Category: Published Research
Fast evolution of SARS-CoV-2 BA.2·86 to JN.1 under heavy immune pressure
The Lancet The SARS-CoV-2 saltation variant BA.2.86, which was quickly designated as a variant under monitoring after its emergence, has garnered global attention. Although BA.2.86 did not show substantial humoral immune escape and growth advantage compared with current dominant variants, such as EG.5.1 and HK.3, it showed remarkably high ACE2 binding affinity. This increased binding […]
Dec 19, 2023
Replication-Competent Virus Detected in Blood of a Fatal COVID-19 Case
Annals of Internal Medicine Background: SARS-CoV-2 infects respiratory tissues, and in some cases, replication-competent virus has been detected in extrapulmonary tissues, including brain (1). Viremic spread is suspected, and detection of viral RNA in blood is frequently reported (2). However, recovery of replication-competent virus from blood has not been previously demonstrated (3, 4). Objective: To confirm viremia in […]
Dec 12, 2023
Nature The severity of chest X-ray (CXR) findings is a prognostic factor in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We investigated the clinical and genetic characteristics and prognosis of patients with worsening CXR findings during early hospitalization. We retrospectively included 1656 consecutive Japanese patients with COVID-19 recruited through the Japan COVID-19 Task Force. Rapid deterioration […]
Dec 12, 2023
Cell-free DNA reveals distinct pathology of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
Journal of Clinical Investigation Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare but life-threatening hyperinflammatory condition induced by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes pediatric COVID-19 (pCOVID-19). The relationship of the systemic tissue injury to the pathophysiology of MIS-C is poorly defined. We leveraged the high sensitivity of epigenomics […]
Nov 14, 2023
SARS-CoV-2 Virologic Rebound With Nirmatrelvir–Ritonavir Therapy
Annals of Internal Medicine Compared with untreated persons (n = 55), those taking N-R (n = 72) were older, received more COVID-19 vaccinations, and more commonly had immunosuppression. Fifteen participants (20.8%) taking N-R had VR versus 1 (1.8%) who was untreated (absolute difference, 19.0 percentage points [95% CI, 9.0 to 29.0 percentage points]; P = 0.001). All persons with […]
Nov 14, 2023
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
Masks During Pandemics Caused by Respiratory Pathogens—Evidence and Implications for Action
JAMA More than 3 years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the use of face masks in the community remains controversial. Vaccination, treatment, population immunity, and other developments have enabled a return to a semblance of prepandemic life, but disagreement about what the evidence shows about masks—and the implications for their use—persists. SARS-CoV-2 is still a […]
Oct 31, 2023
International Journal of Infectious Diseases Knowledge is limited on how changing SARS-CoV-2 variants may translate into different characteristics and affect prognosis of patients with long COVID, especially following Omicron variants. We compared long-term prognosis of patients in a Danish Post COVID Clinic infected with wild-type strain, Alpha, Delta, or Omicron variants as well as the […]
Oct 31, 2023
Annals of Internal Medicine COVID-19 has been linked to the development of many post–COVID-19 conditions (PCCs) after acute infection. Limited information is available on the effectiveness of oral antivirals used to treat acute COVID-19 in preventing the development of PCCs. Eighty-six percent of the participants were male, with a median age of 66 years, and […]
Oct 31, 2023
Long-term health impacts of COVID-19 among 242,712 adults in England
Nature The COVID-19 pandemic is having a lasting impact on health and well-being. We compare current self-reported health, quality of life and symptom profiles for people with ongoing symptoms following COVID-19 to those who have never tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection and those who have recovered from COVID-19. Overall, 276,840/800,000 (34·6%) of invited participants took […]
Oct 24, 2023