Medicine News

Smokers, COPD Patients Have High Levels of Coronavirus ‘Entry Point’ Enzyme in Their Lungs

Active cigarette smoking and COPD up-regulate ACE2 expression in lower airways, which in part may explain the increased risk of severe COVID-19 in these populations. Image credit: Leung et al, doi: 10.1183/13993003.00688-2020.
Apr 13, 2020 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the European Respiratory Journal, smokers and individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have higher levels of angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2), which is the entry receptor for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, in their lungs; this may explain the increased risk of severe COVID-19 in these subpopulations and highlight importance of smoking cessation. Active cigarette smoking and COPD up-regulate...

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ISS bacteria are just trying to survive. Image credit: Arek Socha.

Study Sheds New Light on Antimicrobial Activity of Silver

Apr 9, 2020 by News Staff

As ‘superbug’ bacteria resistant to commonly prescribed antibiotics have become a global threat to public health in recent years, noble metals, such...

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (greenish brown) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (pink), isolated from a patient sample. Image credit: NIAID.

Genetic Study Identifies Three Variants of SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus

Apr 9, 2020 by News Staff

In a phylogenetic network analysis of the first 160 complete genomes of SARS-CoV-2 to be sequenced from human patients, an international team of scientists...

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a VERO E6 cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (orange), isolated from a patient sample. Image credit: NIAID.

Experimental Drug Has Broad Spectrum Antiviral Activity against Multiple Coronaviruses

Apr 9, 2020 by News Staff

An orally bioavailable prodrug called EIDD-2801 (β-D-N4-hydroxycytidine-5’-isopropyl ester) has broad spectrum antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2,...

The structure of a coronavirus. Image credit: Scientificanimations.com / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Common Human Coronaviruses are Sharply Seasonal, Study Says

Apr 8, 2020 by News Staff

Four types of human coronaviruses (OC43, 229E, HKU1 and NL63) are highly seasonal and appear to transmit similarly to influenza A (H3N2) in the same population,...

Surgical face masks could prevent transmission of human coronaviruses and influenza viruses from symptomatic individuals. Image credit: Mohamed Hassan.

Surgical Face Masks Could Prevent Transmission of Coronaviruses from Symptomatic Individuals

Apr 8, 2020 by News Staff

In new laboratory experiments conducted by researchers from the University of Maryland, the University of Hong Kong and Harvard School of Public Health,...

The Surviving Sepsis Campaign COVID-19 panel issued recommendations to help support healthcare workers caring for critically ill ICU patients with COVID-19. Image credit: Rosario ‘Charo’ Gutierrez, U.S. Air Force.

Study: Only 6% of Actual COVID-19 Cases Detected Worldwide

Apr 7, 2020 by News Staff

According to a report by University of Göttingen researchers Christian Bommer and Sebastian Vollmer, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases officially...

Suffering from skin damage from face masks? Gefen et al offer remedies to health staff and the general public. Image credit: Leo2014.

COVID-19: Suffering from Skin Damage from Protective Masks? Researchers Offer Remedies to Heal

Apr 7, 2020 by News Staff

Healthcare professionals on the COVID-19 frontline are spending many hours a day wearing face masks, and many members of the general public are doing the...

The paper device is folded and unfolded in steps to filter the nucleic acids of pathogens from wastewater samples, then a biochemical reaction with preloaded reagents detects whether the nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2 infection is present; the results are visible to the naked eye: a green circle indicating positive and a blue circle negative. Image credit: Cranfield University.

Paper-Based Device Could Detect SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus in Wastewater

Apr 6, 2020 by News Staff

An approach called the wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), which is already recognized as an effective way to trace illicit drugs and obtain information...

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (blue) infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (red), isolated from a patient sample. Image credit: NIAID.

Anti-Parasitic Drug Inhibits Replication of SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus in Cell Cultures

Apr 6, 2020 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University and the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute)...

In cell cultures analyzed in the study, APN01 inhibited the coronavirus load by a factor of 1,000-5,000. Image credit: Tibor Kulcsar / IMBA.

Experimental Drug Blocks Growth of SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus in Cell Cultures and Organoids

Apr 3, 2020 by News Staff

A trial drug called APN01 or human recombinant soluble ACE2 (hrsACE2) can significantly block early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infections, according to a paper...

The Surviving Sepsis Campaign COVID-19 panel issued recommendations to help support healthcare workers caring for critically ill ICU patients with COVID-19. Image credit: Rosario ‘Charo’ Gutierrez, U.S. Air Force.

International Panel Releases Guidelines on Management of ICU Patients with COVID-19

Apr 3, 2020 by News Staff

The Surviving Sepsis Campaign COVID-19 panel, which includes 36 experts from 12 countries, has issued new guidelines for health-care workers treating intensive...

The PittCoVacc vaccine is delivered into the skin through a fingertip-sized patch of microscopic needles. Image credit: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

COVID-19 Candidate Vaccine Shows Promise in Mouse Study

Apr 2, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam has developed a potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, a novel...

Prem et al estimated the effects of physical distancing measures on the progression of the COVID-19 epidemic, hoping to provide some insights for the rest of the world. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

Study: China’s Control Measures Delayed Spread of COVID-19, Prevented 744,000 Cases

Apr 2, 2020 by News Staff

Responding to an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease, in December 2019, China banned travel to and from Wuhan...

A vaccine must go through six crucial steps. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

COVID-19 Vaccine: Here Are Steps It Will Need to Go Through During Development

Apr 1, 2020 by The Conversation

Since humans haven’t previously been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, our bodies aren’t well equipped to deal with being infected by it. A vaccine...

Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image credit: NIAID.

Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Often Have Other Respiratory Viruses, Study Finds

Apr 1, 2020 by News Staff

About 1 in 5 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, a new coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease, are also infected with other respiratory viruses, according...

This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 isolated from a patient in the U.S. Image credit: NIAID-RML.

Remdesivir Has Therapeutic Potential against SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus, Scientists Say

Apr 1, 2020 by News Staff

Two new papers published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy provide a summary of therapeutic compounds that showed potential in fighting...

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (blue) infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (red), isolated from a patient sample. Image credit: NIAID.

Loss of Smell and Taste Reported as Early Symptoms of COVID-19

Mar 31, 2020 by The Conversation

Symptoms of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, typically include a dry cough, fever and shortness of breath. But evidence...

Zhang et al designed a peptide that can bind to part of SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein. Image credit: Christine Daniloff, MIT.

Newly-Synthesized Peptide Could Disarm SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus

Mar 31, 2020 by News Staff

Chemists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have chemically synthesized a new peptide (a short protein fragment) that can bind to part...

Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image credit: NIAID.

Artificial Intelligence Identifies Potential Anti-COVID-19 Drugs

Mar 30, 2020 by News Staff

Scientists from Gero Pte. Ltd., Singapore, have used a deep neural network to search for host-target acting antivirals among experimental and approved...

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