Category: Clinical Considerations
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cognitive decline
The Lancet The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population has been catastrophic. Despite substantial progress in understanding the virology, transmission, and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2, many of the long-term consequences of COVID-19 or the restriction measures implemented around the world remain unknown. Evidence for the associated adverse effects of isolation, loneliness, post-traumatic stress, […]
Nov 8, 2023
The Long Journey to Treat the Long Covid Brain
CNN Podcast More than three years after the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, many long Covid patients are still experiencing brain fog, extreme fatigue, and myriad other health issues, leaving some unable to complete even the most basic of daily tasks. How should long Covid patients approach treatment, let alone everyday life? In this episode, […]
Nov 7, 2023
Researchers Show SARS-Cov-2 Infection Affects Energy Stores in the Body, Causing Organ Failure
UNC The lungs were once at the forefront of SARS-Cov-2 research, but as reports of organ failure and other serious complications poured in, scientists set out to discover how and why the respiratory virus was causing serious damage to the body’s major organs, including the lungs. An interdisciplinary COVID-19 International Research Team (COV-IRT), which includes […]
Oct 31, 2023
Kids With COVID Infectious for About 3 Days
Medpage Today Small study finds no difference in infectiousness by vaccination status with Omicron variant. Children infected with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 appear to be infectious for about 3 days after a positive test, researchers found. In a small study of 76 kids ages 7 to 18, the median duration of infectivity was 3 […]
Oct 24, 2023
How SARS-CoV-2 contributes to heart attacks and strokes
NIH COVID-19 is known to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. The intense inflammation that occurs throughout the body in severe cases likely contributes to this increased risk. But it’s not clear whether SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, also affects blood vessels directly. To find out, an NIH-funded research team, led […]
Oct 24, 2023
Why does COVID-19 usually hit adults so much harder than kids? The nose knows.
USA Today It has been clear since early in the coronavirus pandemic that children ‒ typically magnets for colds and the flu ‒ weren’t getting very sick from COVID-19. Now, a study suggests the answer lies in their noses. The study from researchers at Stanford University and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital found the immune systems of younger children […]
Oct 17, 2023
Scientists Offer a New Explanation for Long Covid
NYT A team of scientists is proposing a new explanation for some cases of long Covid, based on their findings that serotonin levels were lower in people with the complex condition. In their study, published on Monday in the journal Cell, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania suggest that serotonin reduction is triggered by remnants of […]
Oct 17, 2023
Pandemic-Era Conditions Blamed for Spike in Cardiac Arrest Deaths
MedPageToday SARS-CoV-2 infection itself played minor role in OHCA survival rates in Seattle Epidemiological records suggest that Seattle’s drop in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival during the pandemic could be largely explained by indirect factors such as treatment delays, not acute SARS-CoV-2 infections. While instances of EMS-treated OHCA tended to track closely with community SARS-CoV-2 […]
Oct 10, 2023
Pulmonary Embolism During COVID Infection a Deadly Mix
MedPageToday 20% of patients with both died during pandemic’s first year versus 7% of those with PE alone. During the first year of the pandemic, patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) had higher in-hospital mortality rates when they also had concomitant COVID-19, according to a nationwide retrospective cohort study. Using data from the 2020 National Inpatient […]
Oct 10, 2023
Lower Microbiome Diversity May Indicate Severe COVID Infection
MedPageToday Patients admitted to the ICU had significant increases in certain bacteria, study shows. Patients with severe COVID-19 infection had lower microbiome diversity, indicating a potential biomarker of disease progression and severity, researchers said here. Stool samples taken from patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with severe COVID showed significant increases Parasutterella, Odoribacter, Staphylococcus, […]
Oct 10, 2023