Scientists have identified a drug that can be repurposed to prevent COVID-19 in research involving a unique mix of ‘mini-organs’, donor organs, animal studies and patients. The research, published today in Nature, showed that an existing drug used to treat a type of liver disease is able to ‘lock’ the doorway by which SARS-CoV-2 enters our
In a new study, researchers sought to determine the percentage of COVID-19 patients discharged from the hospital who had a type of fibrotic lung damage, known as interstitial lung disease, that requires ongoing follow-up care. These patients had varying degrees of COVID-19 severity at hospital admission. In a new study published online in the American
Less is known about the impact of Covid-19 infection among children compared to adults. Why do children experience milder symptoms on average compared to adults? Do children experience Long Covid, and what makes them different? What is MIS-C and what is its prevalence? A recent perspective published by Science explores current research and provides answers to these
LMU researchers demonstrate in a zebrafish model that two proteins prevent scar formation in the brain, thereby improving the ability of tissue to regenerate. Whereas cells regularly renew themselves in most endogenous tissues, the number of nerve cells in the human brain and spinal cord remains constant. Although nerve cells can regenerate in the brains
A cross-institutional effort between researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Duke University has yielded exciting progress in the search for new therapeutics against Covid-19. Where much of our current anti-SARS-CoV-2 arsenal is built around the virus’ spike (S) protein, many other proteins contribute to the viral life cycle as well. This includes the nucleocapsid (N) protein, which
Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have found that severe COVID-19 is associated with an imbalance in an important immune system signaling pathway. The discovery helps explain at the molecular level why some people infected by SARS-CoV-2 develop a potentially fatal systemic inflammation. It also paves the way to the development
Are the currently approved antibody therapies used to treat individuals at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease also effective against currently circulating viral variants? A recent study by researchers at the German Primate Center (DPZ) – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg shows that the Omicron sub-lineage BQ.1.1, currently on the rise
Researchers have engineered a family of adeno-associated viral vectors that cross the blood-brain barrier in primate models. Gene therapies can treat, even potentially cure, certain genetic diseases, but it is challenging to deliver the treatments to the parts of the body where they are needed. Researchers have engineered viruses called adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) to deliver
Penn Medicine researchers laud early results for CAR T therapy in lupus patients, point to broader horizon for the use of personalized cellular therapies Engineered immune cells, known as CAR T cells, have shown the world what personalized immunotherapies can do to fight blood cancers. Now, investigators have reported highly promising early results for CAR
Researchers find that combining novel gene-editing CRISPR technology with CAR T therapy could simplify and improve CAR T therapy in one fell swoop. Traditional CAR T Therapy A remarkable feat in cancer care, today people with difficult-to-treat blood cancers can receive CAR T therapy, a personalized “drug” made from their own immune cells. Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell (CAR T)
