By Dr. Liji Thomas, MD May 17 2023Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc. The emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), led to an overwhelming strain on public health systems struggling to deal with the influx of cases to prevent viral transmission. As COVID-19...
Category: <span>Virology</span>
Many people are tired of grappling with long COVID—here are some evidence-based ways to counter it
by Kyle B. Enfield, The Conversation Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A patient of mine, once a marathon runner, now gets tired just walking around the block. She developed COVID-19 during the 2020 Christmas holiday and saw me during the summer of 2021. Previously, her primary care doctor had recommended a graded exercise program. But exercise exhausted...
Study may provide new avenues for addressing somatosensory symptoms of long COVID
Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc. May 9 2023 COVID-19, the disease resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infection, is associated with highly variable clinical outcomes that range from asymptomatic disease to death. For those with milder infections, COVID-19 can produce respiratory infection symptoms (cough, congestion, fever) and sensory phenotypes such as headache and loss of sense of smell....
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT LONG COVID?
Three years in, scientists still aren’t quite sure why some people get stuck with the syndrome and its cluster of debilitating symptoms long after their COVID-19 infection has cleared, while others breeze through and quickly return to a normal life. In part, that’s because long COVID is so hard to pin down. For some patients,...
Why viral reservoirs are a prime suspect for long COVID sleuths
May 2, 20235:01 AM ET By Will Stone\ Scientists haven’t unraveled the cause of long COVID. But evidence is growing that an ongoing viral infection could be driving the symptoms, at least in some patients.Gary Waters/Fanatic Studio Brent Palmer’s first inkling about long COVID started in the early days of the pandemic, before the term...
Herpes study adds to understanding of viral reinfections, how to potentially prevent them
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CHICAGO IMAGE: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CHICAGO RESEARCHERS, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, HEMANT BORASE, TEJABHIRAM YADAVALLI, CHANDRASHEKHAR PATIL AND DEEPAK SHUKLA, IN THEIR LAB. CREDIT: DEEPAK SHUKLA/UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CHICAGO A new study on herpes infections of the eye from University of Illinois Chicago researchers helps shed light on the question of viral...
LIFE LA County Reports First Cases of New Arcturus Strain of New Arcturus Strain of COVID-19
by Contributing Editor April 21, 2023 From Pixabay Los Angeles County has identified the first local cases of a newly emerging strain of COVID-19, the public health director said, although the numbers remain generally low and current vaccines are believed to be effective in preventing severe illness from it. Commonly referred to as Arcturus, the...
Bold new therapy delivery method shows initial promise as treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy
CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER IMAGE: RESEARCHERS SHOWED THAT SYSTEMIC DELIVERY OF MYMK+MYMG-LV-DYS RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT LEVEL OF DYS+ MYOFIBERS. IMPORTANTLY, THE TEAM DID NOT DETECT EVIDENCE OF VIRAL TRANSDUCTION IN NON-SKELETAL MUSCLE TISSUES INCLUDING HEART, KIDNEY, LIVER, AND SPLEEN. DYSTROPHIC MICE EXHIBITED HEALTHIER MUSCLES (REDUCTIONS IN MUSCLES CELLS WHERE A DYE WAS ABLE...
New COVID Variant on WHO’s Radar Causing Itchy Eyes in Kids
Lisa O’Mary April 12, 2023 A new COVID-19 variant that recently landed on the World Health Organization’s radar may cause previously unseen symptoms in children, according to a new report. While the variant, called “Arcturus,” hasn’t yet made the CDC’s watchlist, a prominent pediatrician in India is seeing children with “itchy” or “sticky” eyes, as if they...
Emory researchers discover key pathway for COVID organ damage in adults
EMORY HEALTH SCIENCES Even after three years since the emergence of COVID-19, much remains unknown about how it causes severe disease, including the widespread organ damage beyond just the lungs. Increasingly, scientists are learning that organ dysfunction results from damage to the blood vessels, but why the virus causes this damage is unclear. Now a...