A clinical trial has found that treatment with the immunomodulator interferon beta-1a plus the antiviral remdesivir was not superior to treatment with remdesivir alone in hospitalized adults with COVID-19 pneumonia. In addition, in a subgroup of patients who required high-flow oxygen, investigators found that interferon beta-1a was associated with more adverse events and worse outcomes.
Americans who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 are far more likely than vaccinated people to contract the coronavirus and to be hospitalized and die from it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even so, a recent Pew Research Center survey finds they are less likely to be concerned about the health effects of the virus and to
Old and overtly anti-Semitic fantasies are gaining new adherents, and far-right activists have been working to convert anti-lockdown beliefs to anti-Semitism too. Conspiracy theories about Covid are helping disseminate anti-Semitic beliefs to a wider audience, warns a new report by the antiracist advocacy group Hope not Hate. The report says that not only has the pandemic revived
Health conditions, such as heart or lung disease, can increase your risk of developing dangerous symptoms if you become infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms can vary widely. Some people have no symptoms at all, while others become so sick that they eventually need mechanical assistance to breathe. The risk
Half of COVID survivors experience lingering symptoms six months after recovery More than half of the 236 million people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 worldwide since December 2019 will experience post-COVID symptoms — more commonly known as “long COVID” — up to six months after recovering, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. The research
This review aims to outline the particular approaches in the different published clinical trials for cell-based therapies for retinal diseases. The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is implicated in the pathophysiology of many retinal degenerative diseases. This cell layer is also an ideal target for cell-based therapies. Several early phase clinical trials evaluatingcell therapy approaches for
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, taking half a million lives each year. CAR T technology has successfully harnessed the human immune system to produce awe-inspiring cancer remission rates. CRISPR-mediated genome engineering has enabled new developments in CAR T cells to bypass logistical, technical, and immunological roadblocks, making the
COVID-19 vaccine choices are getting more complicated. So don’t feel bad if you are confused about the different COVID-19 vaccines and who’s eligible for what. In addition to the three original vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration—Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson—booster shots and third doses are now available. But they are not
In Blood, Greinacher and colleagues examine humoral responses in vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) and COVID-19 to determine whether these illnesses are immunologically distinct or represent a disease continuum. At a surface level, vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), a recently described complication of adenoviral-based COVID-19 vaccines, and COVID-19 have much in common. Both illnesses owe their origins to severe
In the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical community turned to a century-old treatment: Take blood from recovered patients and give it to the sick. The hypothesis was that components in the so-called “convalescent plasma” that fought off the disease once could do it again, something that has worked in other diseases, such
