News by Subject Medicine & Health

Infants born to women with COVID-19 showed few adverse outcomes, according to the first report in the country of infant outcomes through eight weeks of age. The study, led by researchers at UC San Francisco, suggests that babies born to mothers infected with the virus generally do well six to eight weeks after birth, however there was a higher rate of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions reported if the mothers had COVID-19 up to two weeks prior to delivery.

A team of researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum (DRFZ) Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, have successfully treated two patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus. Using daratumumab, a monoclonal antibody which targets specific immune cells known as plasma cells, the researchers were able to modulate the abnormal immunological memory processes found in these patients. Treatment induced sustainable clinical responses and resulted in a reduction in systemic inflammation.

Children and adults exhibit distinct immune system responses to infection by the virus that causes COVID-19, a finding that helps explain why COVID-19 outcomes tend to be much worse in adults, researchers from Yale and Albert Einstein College of Medicine report Sept. 18 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

While some people who contract SARS-CoV-2 infections never experience any symptoms, there remains disagreement about what proportion of total infections these cases represent. A new study published in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Diana Buitrago-Garcia at the University of Bern, Switzerland and colleagues suggests that true asymptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2 comprise a minority of infections.

Although people of any age can become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, elderly patients face a higher risk of severity and death than younger patients. New research comparing the immune response among age groups, published this week in mBio, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, may help explain why. Older patients with the disease have lower frequencies of the immune cells needed to expel the virus from the body, the researchers found.

New research suggests that the impact of natural and vaccine-induced immunity will be key factors in shaping the future trajectory of the global coronavirus pandemic, known as COVID-19. In particular, a vaccine capable of eliciting a strong immune response could substantially reduce the future burden of infection, according to a study by Princeton researchers published in the journal Science Sept. 21.

While scientists race to develop and test a vaccine effective against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, recent studies have indicated that countries with widespread BCG vaccination appear to be weathering the pandemic better than their counterparts. This has led many researchers to suspect that BCG vaccine, which immunizes against tuberculosis, might offer protection against COVID-19.

Using patient data from Cleveland Clinic's COVID-19 registry, Dr. Joe Zein found that receiving the flu vaccine does not increase risk for COVID-19 or worsen associated disease outcomes, suggesting it is safe and advisable to receive the influenza vaccine this flu season.

Belief in conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic was inversely related to the perceived threat of the pandemic; taking of preventive actions, including wearing a face mask; and the intention to be vaccinated when there is a COVID-19 vaccine. The research is based on two-wave panel study in March and July of 840 U.S. adults.