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By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Mild COVID-19 induces prolonged immune response
In patients with mild COVID-19, immune responses last for months and possibly longer, the researchers found. Initial reports suggest that in mildly ill patients, antibodies decline and immunity decline soon after recovery. But a study in China last month of 349 patients with COVID-19, which has yet to be peer reviewed, found similar immune response patterns at six months, regardless the severity of symptoms. And in a study published on Saturday ahead of the peer review, US researchers performed blood tests in 15 patients after mild COVID-19, looking for three signs of long-lasting immune responses: antibodies, the so-called memory B cells and memory T cells. Three months after recovery, patients still had “these three layers of defense,” which reduced their risk of reinfection, study co-author Lauren Rodda of the University of Medicine School of Medicine told Reuters. Washington. If they get re-infected, they’re less likely to get seriously ill or be contagious, Rodda said. The three-month test results were unchanged from the one-month results, so his team believes this is a lasting response. Because the results show that immune responses last for three months or more, Rodda added, they support advice from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that patients do not need to be retested for it. COVID-19 in the first three months after infection. Both studies were published on the medRxiv website. (https://bit.ly/3g2fLBv; https://bit.ly/2CyMSPF)
COVID-19 survivors at risk for psychiatric disorders
A study of more than 62,000 COVID-19 survivors found significant risks of mental health problems. Researchers have found that one in 16 COVID-19 patients who have never had a mental illness will receive one within three months of infection. This risk is about twice as high as expected and is even higher in patients sick enough to be hospitalized, study leader Maxime Taquet of the University of Oxford told Reuters. Anxiety disorders are the most common, but depression, insomnia and rarely dementia also occur, he said. The study, reported on Sunday on the medRxiv website ahead of the peer review, also found above-average rates of COVID-19 in people with a previous psychiatric diagnosis. Taquet’s advice to patients: “If you experience anxiety, depressed mood, insomnia, or memory loss after COVID-19, you should see a healthcare practitioner as there may be ways. to improve these symptoms. ” (https://bit.ly/3iT7Ect)
Viral load unrelated to odor or taste recovery
Levels of the virus in the nose and throat have been linked to the severity of COVID-19 symptoms, but researchers in Hong Kong who expected the viral load to be correlated with impaired smell and smell. taste were surprised: viral load was not related to the severity of these symptoms. known as smell and taste symptoms, nor with the time it takes for the smell or taste to return to normal. The findings, reported in the journal Laryngoscope, are based on data from 39 patients in Hong Kong who developed problems with smell or taste – or both. On average, it took 10 days for these senses to come back. Four to six weeks after becoming ill, 72% had completely regained the ability to smell and 83% were able to taste again. But there was no statistically significant relationship between viral load and the severity of these symptoms or recovery time. (https://bit.ly/2CDhTSI)
Early use of antibody-rich convalescent plasma may be best
Treating critically ill COVID-19 patients with antibody-rich blood plasma from people who have recovered from the disease may reduce the risk of death, and new data from a nationwide US study may help to refine the use of this so-called convalescent plasma. . In 2,807 hospitals between April 4 and July 4, more than 35,000 patients hospitalized with or at risk of life-threatening COVID-19 respiratory problems received a transfusion of at least one unit of convalescent plasma COVID-19. About half of the patients were in intensive care units and about a quarter needed mechanical ventilators. Death rates were lower when plasma was given within three days of diagnosis, rather than later, the researchers found. And the more antibodies there are in the plasma, the lower the risk of death for recipients. In a report published prior to the peer review of medRxiv, the research team concluded that while the study was not a benchmark randomized trial, the findings added to the evidence that “the quality and manner whose convalescent plasma is given to hospitalized patients with COVID -19 may reduce mortality. “(https://bit.ly/2DZ8OEg)
Open https://tmsnrt.rs/3a5EyDh in an external browser for a Reuters graphic on vaccines and treatments in development.
(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Will Dunham)
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