All approved COVID-19 vaccines so far are administered in the form of injections. What if the vaccines could be conveniently delivered as spray in the nose? If you do not like shots, here may be the good news! Intranasal administration of...
Low-cost dexamethasone reduces death by up to one third in hospitalised patients with severe respiratory complications of COVID-19
The scientists have been sceptic over the rationale for prolonged corticosteroid treatment in the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) caused by COVID-19....
The assay time is considerably reduced from about an hour to few minutes by the newly reported RTF-EXPAR method which uses reverse transcriptase-free (RTF) approach for conversion of RNA into DNA followed by EXPAR (Exponential Amplification Reaction) for amplification at...
Europe is reeling with an unusually high number of COVID 19 cases for the past few weeks and this can be attributed to the highly transmissible delta variant along with relaxation in COVID norms with respect to wearing of...
It is known that COVID-19 increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and Long COVID but what was not known is whether the damage occurs because the virus infects the heart tissue itself, or due to systemic inflammation initiated...
The containment scheme based on 'quarantine' or 'social distancing' has emerged as the main tool in fight against COVID-19. But, there are concerns about economic and psychological costs. A researcher offers ''social containment'' as an alternative which seems to...
MHRA, UK regulator has issued an advisory against the use of AstraZeneca vaccine as it has been shown to induce the formation of blood clots along with thrombocytopenia in rare cases (4 events in a million). However, in people...
Several studies indicate that activation of NLRP3 inflammasome is responsible for acute respiratory distress syndrome and/or acute lung injury (ARDS/ALI) seen in severely ill COVID-19 patients which often result in death due to multiple organ failure. This suggests NLRP3...
A recent study suggests increased risk of formation of coronavirus hotspots caused due to deforestation and livestock revolution leading to zoonotic transmission of coronavirus from bats to humans. The study seems to sow enough subliminal seeds in the minds...
Interim data from the phase III clinical trial of Oxford University/AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine show the vaccine is effective at preventing COVID-19 caused due to SARS-CoV-2 virus and offers a high level of protection against the disease.
The phase III trial tested two...
Advanced age and comorbidities are known to be high risk factors for COVID-19. Does genetic make-up predispose some people making them more susceptible to severe symptoms? Conversely, does genetic make-up enable some people to have innate immunity making them...
In the practice of medicine, one generally prefers time tested proven path while treating and trying to prevent diseases. An innovation is usually expected to pass the test of time. The three approved COVID-19 vaccines, two mRNA vaccines and...
NeoCoV, a coronavirus strain related to MERS-CoV found in bats (NeoCoV is not a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the human coronavirus strain responsible for COVID-19 pandemic) has been reported to be the first case of a MERS-CoV variant using ACE2....
A new variant called ‘IHU’ (a new Pangolin lineage named B.1.640.2) is reported to have emerged in south-eastern France.
Researchers in Marseille, France have reported detection of a new variant of novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
The index patient had recent travel history...
What causes severe COVID-19 symptoms? Evidences suggest inborn errors of type I Interferon immunity and autoantibodies against type I Interferon are causal for critical COVID-19. These errors can be identified using whole genome sequencing, thereby leading to proper quarantine...
COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major economic impact all over the globe and has resulted in disruption of “normal” life. Countries across the world are battling to find solutions to this disease that includes strengthening the immune system and...
COVID-19 situation across Europe and central Asia is very serious. According to WHO, Europe could face over 2 million COVID-19 deaths by March 2022. Wearing masks, physical distancing and vaccination are key preventive actions that could help avoid reaching this...
The eighth version (seventh update) of a living guideline is released. It replaces earlier versions. The latest update includes a strong recommendation for the use of baricitinib as an alternative to interleukin-6 (IL-6), a conditional recommendation for the use of...
2-Deoxy-D-Glucose(2-DG), a glucose analog that inhibits glycolysis, has recently received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in India for the treatment of moderate to severe COVID-19 patients. The molecule has been extensively researched and used in clinical trials for its ant-cancer properties....
One of unusual and most intriguing feature of heavily mutated Omicron variant is that it acquired all the mutations in a single burst in a very short span of time. The degree of change is so much so that some...
A new global network of laboratories for coronaviruses, CoViNet, has been launched by WHO. The aim behind this initiative is to bring together surveillance programs and reference laboratories to support enhanced epidemiological monitoring and laboratory (phenotypic and genotypic) assessment...
Resistance to COVID-19 infection has been observed in health care workers and has been attributed to the presence of memory T cells that target the RNA polymerase in the RTC (replication transcription complex), thereby preventing infection. This makes RNA...
There has been a rapid increase in the delta variant of SARS CoV-2 in France in June 2021 based on the analysis of 5061 positive samples1. The next few weeks are very crucial with respect to the emergence of the third...
Sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody already approved for mild to moderate COVID-19 in several countries gets approval by MHRA in the UK. This antibody was intelligently designed with a mutating virus in mind. A highly conserved region of the spike protein was...
JN.1 sub-variant whose earliest documented sample was reported on 25 August 2023 and which was later reported by the researchers to have higher transmissibility and immune escape ability, has now been designated a variant of interest (VOIs) by WHO.
In the last few...
