Lung disease weakens cells for a viral attack; readmission-related anemia

July 14 (Reuters) – Here is a summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Lung disease worsens COVID-19 by altering airway genes

New findings shed light on why chronic lung diseases that block the airways – such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis – increase the risks of severe COVID-19 for patients. The diseases cause genetic changes in the epithelial cells that line the airways, making the cells more vulnerable to coronavirus attacks, researchers in Nature Communication. Laboratory studies of these cells have revealed changes in their molecular makeup that likely make it easier for the virus to enter the body, reproduce on its own, and trigger uncontrolled immune responses that fill the lungs with fluid and cause severe organ damage. The researchers, led by Nicholas Banovich of the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix, were only able to examine cells from patients with lung disease without COVID-19, but said their “study highlights crucial areas for research futures “.

Anemia associated with rehospitalization

Anemia, a blood disorder characterized by a low number of red blood cells, should probably be added to the list of risk factors for poor COVID-19 outcomes, according to researchers who studied 374 COVID-19 survivors who were hospitalized and then released, with tests showing the virus had disappeared from their systems. They found that 104 patients needed to be readmitted again and that the rates of moderate or severe anemia (as indicated by the levels of hemoglobin, a red blood cell protein that carries oxygen) were higher in the patients readmitted during the year before they were diagnosed with COVID-19. and while they were sick with the coronavirus. The study, published in iScience, cannot prove that the anemia caused or contributed to the readmissions. Still, the research team at data analysis company nference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said the “strong association” of anemia with readmission calls for research into whether treatments for anemia could be beneficial in some cases.

Heart problems unlikely after mild COVID-19

Survivors of mild COVID-19 cases do not need to be screened for heart problems later, the researchers advise. They performed cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging on 74 healthcare workers who had recovered six months earlier from mild or asymptomatic coronavirus infections, and on 75 uninfected people matched for age, sex and condition. Ethnicity. According to a report published Tuesday in European Heart Journal: Cardiovascular Imaging, there was no difference between the surviving group and the control group in parameters of heart structure or function or in laboratory tests suggesting heart disease. The researchers, led by George Joy of Barts Heart Center in London, conclude: “Our study reassures society about the cardiovascular health of working-age people recovering from mild SARS-CoV-2. Screening of asymptomatic people for mild illness is not indicated. . “

Variants causing more severe COVID-19 in Canada

The Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants of the new coronavirus increased patients’ risk of hospitalization and death by 60% compared to earlier forms of the virus, and the Delta variant was even more virulent, according to researchers who have studied more than 211,000 patients in Canada diagnosed with COVID-19 between February and June 2021. Alpha, Beta and Gamma – first seen in the UK, South Africa and Brazil – more than doubled the risk of needing care intensive, although patients were generally younger and healthier than those infected earlier in the pandemic. With the Delta variant, first identified in India and now becoming dominant in many countries, “the risks of hospitalization and death have more than doubled and the risk of ICU admission has more than tripled” compared to to earlier strains of SARS-CoV-2, Dr David said. Fisman of the University of Toronto, who co-authored a report published Monday on medRxiv before peer review. He told Reuters that his team had seen an overall trend of declining severity of the disease over time, possibly due to vaccinations.

Click for a Reuters chart on vaccines in development.

Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Tiffany Wu

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