Category Archives: COVID-19

The long-term immune response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination was similar in pregnant individuals compared with non-pregnant individuals of reproductive age, according to a study by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. The similarity in protection is noteworthy, given that pregnancy alters the immune system, and potentially the response to vaccination. The researchers also found […]

New research shows that the recently emerged BA.2.86 omicron subvariant of the virus that causes COVID-19 can be neutralized by bivalent mRNA vaccine-induced antibodies in the blood, which explains why this variant did not cause a widespread surge as previously feared. However, the study in cell cultures showed this SARS-CoV-2 variant can infect human cells […]

SARS-CoV-2 viral particles are composed of a core of nucleic acid chains that contain the genetic information of the virus, surrounded by a lipid membrane with proteinous spikes sticking out. Each component is necessary for infection. Researchers from the University of Southampton investigated how ultraviolet laser light destroys the virus by impacting each of these […]

Patients with long COVID can exhibit a reduction in circulating levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, according to a new research. The mechanisms that cause long COVID have not been studied in depth, and treatments that are widely effective in reducing these long-term symptoms have not yet been developed. “Many aspects of the basic biology underlying […]

Several previous studies of persisting problems after COVID have involved MRI brain scanning. Although researchers have found differences compared with healthy brains, these differences are not specific to COVID-19. “It can be frustrating for me as a doctor when I understand that the patients have problems, but I can’t find an explanation because there’s nothing […]

Disease of the small airways in the lungs is a potential long-lasting effect of COVID-19, according to a new study. The study found that small airways disease occurred independently of initial infection severity. The long-term consequences are unknown. “There is some disease happening in the small airways independent of the severity of COVID-19,” said study […]

Led by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new work created lab mice with human genetic material for ACE2. The mice with this genetic change developed symptoms similar to young humans infected with the virus causing COVID-19, instead of dying upon infection as had occurred with prior mouse models. “Given that mice have […]

In a new study clinicians and researchers show that the administration of plasma taken from convalescent donors after infection with Sars-CoV-2 to patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring artificial mechanical ventilation significantly reduced mortality (10%). The randomized trial involved 17 intensive care units in Belgian hospitals. It included a total of 475 patients […]

A collaborative study has charted the prevalence of severe physical symptom burden amongst Scandinavians for up to two years after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Most affected were people who had a severe COVID-19 infection, while the researchers found no elevated prevalence of long COVID in those who had never been bedridden.  In the present study, researchers […]