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By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the results and that has not yet been certified by peer review.
Cells infected with the virus protected by proteins from the immune system
A protein called CD47 that helps damaged cells avoid destruction by the immune system may contribute to severe cases of COVID-19, researchers believe. Drugs under development targeting CD47 could improve COVID-19 therapies, they suggested in a report published in Current Issues in Molecular Biology. “We may have identified a major factor associated with severe COVID-19,” University of Kent co-author Martin Michaelis said in a statement. “We can now expect further advancements in treatment design. In lab experiments, researchers found that CD47 – which actually tells the immune system, “Don’t eat me!” – is present in increased quantities on the surface of cells infected with the coronavirus. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 also increases the levels of another protein, SIRPalpha, which combines with CD47 to cause the immune system to ignore diseased cells. Previous studies have shown that CD47 levels are also elevated in conditions that put people at a higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, such as old age, diabetes, high blood pressure, and blood vessels. clogged. In these groups, “elevated CD47 levels may predispose (…) to severe COVID-19,” the researchers said. “Further research will be needed to further define the roles of CD47 and / or SIRPalpha in COVID-19,” they added.
Remdesivir keeps high-risk patients out of hospital
Remdesivir, an intravenous antiviral drug from Gilead Sciences Inc, has helped keep high-risk COVID-19 patients out of hospital in a randomized trial, the company said. The 562 patients in the study all had conditions that increased their risk of becoming seriously ill. Half received three days of treatment with remdesivir – sold under the brand name Veklury – while the rest received a placebo. Four weeks later, 5.3% of patients in the placebo group had either been hospitalized or died, compared with 0.7% of those who received remdesivir. This resulted in an 87% reduction in the risk of hospitalization or death. Patients treated with remdesivir also had significantly fewer doctor visits, the company said. The drug is currently authorized for emergency use in hospitalized patients. “These latest data show the potential of remdesivir to help high-risk patients recover before they become ill and stay completely out of hospital,” said study director Dr Robert Gottlieb from Baylor University Medical Center, in a statement. His team plans to officially report the data at an upcoming medical conference.
Pandemic has reduced life expectancy for most since World War II
The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced life expectancy in 2020 by the largest amount since World War II, with the life expectancy of American men declining by more than two years, new data shows. In the 29 countries studied – the United States, Chile and 27 in Europe – all but two showed reduced life expectancy. The decline in life expectancy for men was greater than that for women in most countries. “The sharp declines in life expectancy observed in the United States can in part be explained by the notable increase in working-age mortality observed in 2020,” said study co-leader Ridhi Kashyap from the University of Oxford in a statement. “In the United States, the increase in mortality in the under-60 age group was the most significant contributor to the decline in life expectancy, while in most European countries, the ‘increased mortality above age 60 contributed more significantly. ” The largest declines were seen among American men, who saw their life expectancy drop 2.2 years from 2019, followed by a decline of 1.7 years for Lithuanian men. In the United States and Spain, the life expectancy of women has declined by 1.5 years or more. Overall, men have shaved for more than a year in 15 countries, compared to women in 11 countries. Women in 15 countries and men in 10 ended up with lower life expectancies at birth in 2020 than in 2015, the research team reported in the International Journal of Epidemiology on Sunday.
Click for a Reuters graphic https://tmsnrt.rs/3c7R3Bl on vaccines in development.
(Reporting by Nancy Lapid and Victor Jack; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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