Bin et al isolated and characterized 206 potential therapeutic and prophylactic monoclonal Abs from 8 COVID-19 patients. The isolated Abs were found to prevent RBD-ACE-2 interaction and to have high binding affinity and neutralizing activity...
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The potential benefit of high-dose intravenous Ig in severe COVID-19
Cao et al., describe a promising clinical outcome of three patients presenting with severe COVID-19 and treated with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). According to the authors "All patients were clinically improved shortly following the administration...
SOLIDARITY TRIAL: Testing existing drugs to treat COVID-19
In an attempt to avoid repeating the mistakes of the 2014–16 West African Ebola epidemic, where clinical trials were set up late, leading to the under-recruiting of patients – in the current pandemic researchers have decided to start trials as soon as possible...
Why is COVID-19 so mild in children?
One explanation for the milder COVID-19 disease presentation in children may be that children have a qualitatively different response to the SARS-CoV2 virus to adults (1). Another possibility is the common simultaneous presence of additional viruses in the mucosa of lungs and airways of young children...
SOLIDARITY TRIAL: WHO COVID-19 treatment trial
In an unprecedented effort to obtain scientific data during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the new SOLIDARITY trial that would include thousands of patients from around the world (45 countries and counting)...
Could blood groups influence COVID-19 disease severity?
Biological factors that determine susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 and severity of COVID-19 are yet to be fully understood. A pre-print released in medRxiv by Zhao et al suggests that the ABO blood grouping may influence acquisition of COVID-19 and severity of the disease.
Why are hypertension and diabetes patients at high risk of severe COVID-19?
Retrospective analysis of COVID-19 patient history showed that 12-22% and 23-30% of severe COVID-19 patients also had diabetes and hypertension, respectively. This and other reports suggest that hypertension and diabetes are associated with a high risk of severe COVID-19.
The Origin of SARS-CoV-2
Andersen et al have described the genomic structure of SARS-CoV-2. Notably, the virus has a receptor binding domain consisting of 6 amino acids which not only differentiates it from SARS-CoV but also confers it with ability to bind human or human-like Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-1 (ACE2) with high affinity.
Does COVID-19 have a seasonal pattern?
Since the SARS-CoV-2 virus started to circulate in the different countries that the COVID-19 pandemic has reached, a possible seasonal pattern in the presentation of the disease has been hypothesized. T study the seasonality of diseases, researchers normally focus on several factors...
Broad-spectrum Antiviral Inhibits SARS-CoV-2
27 MarchSheahan et al recently pre-published a paper that states that ribonucleoside analog β-D-N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC, EIDD-1931) has broad spectrum antiviral activity against SARS-CoV 2, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and related zoonotic group 2b or 2c Bat-CoV.