Tag: 10/11/20

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COVID Vaccines May Lose Potency as Virus Evolves

On By ModernMedia

Looking to a time beyond the development of COVID vaccines, researchers are attempting to determine how long the SARS-CoV-2 virus will take to develop resistance to those vaccines.

David Kennedy, assistant professor of biology at Pennsylvania State University said, “A COVID-19 vaccine is urgently needed to save lives and help society return to its pre-pandemic normal,” said David Kennedy, assistant professor of biology. “As we have seen with other diseases, such as pneumonia, the evolution of resistance can quickly render vaccines ineffective. By learning from these previous challenges and by implementing this knowledge during vaccine design, we may be able to maximise the long-term impact of COVID-19 vaccines.”

The researchers recommend that vaccines be designed to create multiple immune responses, making it harder for the vaccine to survive the immune system’s attack, much the way multiple antibiotics are used to suppress bacterial infections, by forcing the virus to have multiple mutations to survive.

Strongly suppressing virus transmission through the host is key to minimising the amount of mutation and thereby the lifespan of the vaccine’s  effectiveness.

“According to the World Health Organization, at least 198 COVID-19 vaccines are in the development pipeline, with 44 currently undergoing clinical evaluation,” said Kennedy. “We suggest that the risk of resistance be used to prioritise investment among otherwise similarly promising vaccine candidates.”

Source: SciTech Daily

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Melatonin: Possible New Drug in COVID Fight

On By ModernMedia

Medical Xpress reports that results from a study Cleveland Clinic indicate that melatonin may be of value in treating COVID. The urgency of the need to treat COVID has resulted in a “fall surge”, where currently available drugs are being assessed for repurposing in treating the pandemic.

The study used artificial intelligence to sift through patient data to uncover possible candidates for use in treatment, and turned up a surprising one – melatonin. The patient data showed that taking melatonin resulted in a 30% decreased chance of contracting COVID after adjusting for confounding variables, with an even greater decreased chance of 52% in African Americans.

The study sifted through clinical manifestations and pathologies COVID and other diseases had in common. They measured the proximity between host genes/proteins and those well-associated with 64 other diseases across several types of disease, with closer proximity indicating a higher likelihood of pathological associations between the diseases.

One of their findings was that proteins associated with respiratory distress syndrome and sepsis, two major mortality causes in severe COVID patients, were strongly connected with multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins.

“Recent studies suggest that COVID-19 is a systematic disease impacting multiple cell types, tissues and organs, so knowledge of the complex interplays between the virus and other diseases is key to understanding COVID-19-related complications and identifying repurposable drugs,” said Dr. Cheng. “Our study provides a powerful, integrative network medicine strategy to predict disease manifestations associated with COVID-19 and facilitate the search for an effective treatment.”

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Reduced Fat Mass but Not Lean Mass Lowers Heart Failure Risk

On By ModernMedia

Simple reduction in weight may not result in improved cardiovascular health, according to a new study from University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW).

Fat mass is the weight of fat in different parts of the body, while lean mass is the weight of muscle. Senior author of the study, Ambarish Pandey, MD, and assistant professor of internal medicine at UTSW explained, “We have long counseled patients to lower their body-mass index into the ‘healthy’ range. But that doesn’t tell us whether a patient has lost ‘fat mass’ or ‘lean mass,’ or where the weight came off. We didn’t know how each of these factors might affect patients’ risk of heart disease.”

The study, using calculated lean and fat mass from the data of 5103 participants in the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) Trial, showed that the more fat mass and waist circumference were lowered, the lower their risk of developing heart failure. A 10% reduction in fat mass led to a 22% lower risk of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and a 24% lower risk of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, two subtypes of this condition. Reduced waist circumference lowered the risk of heart failure with preserved injection fraction, but not heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Reduction in lean mass had no effect on heart failure.

Study author Kershaw Patel, MD, study author and a cardiologist at Houston Methodist Hospital, said, “We showed that reductions in specific, not all, body composition parameters are linked to heart failure.”

Further research is needed to see whether, for example, gains in lean muscle mass is linked to reduced rates of heart failure.

Source: Medical Xpress

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Dolphins, Seals and Whales Are Vulnerable to COVID

On By ModernMedia

The COVID pandemic may infect susceptible marine mammals from wastewater discharge into the oceans, according to researchers from the Department of Pathology at Dalhousie.

The team used genomic mapping to identify which animals would be vulnerable to the virus. Key amino acids which the viruses bound to were found to be shared across humans and certain marine mammals. 
“Many of these species are threatened or critically endangered,” said Dr Graham Dellaire, director of the study. “In the past, these animals have been infected by related coronaviruses that have caused both mild disease as well as life-threatening liver and lung damage.”

18 out of 21 dolphin and porpoise species were predicted to have the same or higher susceptibility to the virus as humans, as well as eight out of nine seal species. SARS-CoV-2 is excreted in faeces, and can survive in the water for 25 days, creating a new pathway for infection. Thus far, no infection in marine animals has been observed.

The animals can be monitored for infection in a number of ways, including with the colourfully named SnotBot drone, which can sample whale mucus from blowholes.

Plans include vaccinating the animals, limiting contact at zoos and monitoring and treating wastewater.

Source: Phys.org 

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Urgent Plea as COVID Leaves SA Blood Stocks Critically Low

On By ModernMedia

The Citizen reports that blood stocks in South Africa are running critically low, and the South African National Blood Service is appealing to businesses, universities, schools and churches to help achieve its minimum requirement of 4 000 units a day.

Demand has surged since lockdown as elective surgeries are now being conducted, as well as a return to increased numbers of accidents.

A statement released by the SANBS reads: “Blood stocks have dropped to critically low levels. The immediate impact is an inability to issue blood in emergencies and the possible loss of lives. We need healthy donors to give blood now.”

Dr Karen de Berg of the SANBS says that the shortfall is resulting from not being able to station blood donation drives at businesses, universities and schools. The SANBS is appealing for donors to visit their website or social media pages to locate their nearest blood donation centres, and is hoping to set up donation drives at churches and petrol stations.