(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the new coronavirus and attempts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Six months later, COVID-19 patients are still having symptoms
Most patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have at least one symptom six months after becoming ill, according to findings from a study in Wuhan, China, where the new coronavirus first emerged in late 2019. Doctors there followed 1,733 patients who were diagnosed and admitted between January, 2020 and May. Six months later, 76% had at least one symptom, including fatigue or muscle weakness (seen in 63%), trouble sleeping, and anxiety or depression. Most of those who were critically ill had persistent lung problems and chest abnormalities that could indicate organ damage, while 13% of patients whose kidneys were functioning normally in hospital later developed kidney problems, researchers reported Friday in The Lancet. “We are only now beginning to understand,” study co-author Bin Cao of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing said in a statement. “Our analysis indicates that most patients continue to live with at least some of the effects of the virus after leaving the hospital,” emphasizing the need for post-discharge care. (bit.ly/39hUKS2)
Interferon stimulates proteins that deny access to the coronavirus
An experimental inhaled form of interferon being tested for the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients may not have a limitation that researchers feared. One potential problem with interferon is that it increases levels of a protein called ACE2, which the new coronavirus uses as a gateway to cells. In test-tube experiments, researchers looked at cells that line the path from the nose to the lungs and found that there are in fact two forms of ACE2 – the familiar one and a short form that lacks the passageway used by the virus. Interferon increases the short form of ACE2, but not the longer form, they found, meaning it doesn’t appear to amplify entry points for the virus. “We were delighted to discover a new form of ACE2,” said Dr. Jane Lucas of the University of Southampton, who co-led the study reported Monday in Nature Genetics, in a statement. “We think this may have important implications for the management of COVID-19 infection.” An inhaled interferon from Synairgen Plc is tested at a late stage. (go.nature.com/3oBO9Z0)
Viral load on saliva improves the prediction of COVID-19 severity
The amount of the new coronavirus in saliva could help doctor care for patients because it is a better predictor of disease progression than the viral load in smears obtained from the nose and back of the throat, researchers said. They studied 26 mildly ill COVID-19 patients, 154 hospitalized patients – including 63 who became seriously ill and 23 who eventually died – and 108 uninfected individuals. Saliva viral load, but not nasopharyngeal viral load, was associated with COVID-19 risk factors such as age and gender, and immune system responses. Saliva viral load was also superior to nasopharyngeal viral load in predicting critical illness and death, the researchers reported on medRxiv on Wednesday ahead of peer review. Saliva contains inhaled germs that are removed from the lungs by the body’s protective mechanisms, Yale University co-author Akiko Iwasaki explained in a tweet on Sunday. The viral load of the saliva therefore reflects how well the virus makes copies of itself, all the way through the airways, from the nose to the lungs, and not just into the nose and back of the throat, Iwasaki said. (bit.ly/3i1KpO9)
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Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot