Jul 3rd, 2020 - High incidence of thrombosis in COVID-19 patients indicates a hypercoagulable state. Hence, exploring the involvement of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in these patients is of interest. To illustrate the incidence of criteria (lupus anticoagulant (LAC), anticardiolipin (aCL) IgG/IgM, antibeta2-glycoprotein I antibodies (aβ2GPI) IgG/IgM) and non-criteria (anti-prothrombin/phosphatidyl serine ...

Jul 3rd, 2020 - The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in China, December 2019. The clinical features and treatment of COVID-19 patients remain largely elusive. However, accurate detection is required for SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis. We aimed to evaluate the antibodies-based test and nucleic acid-based test for SARS-CoV-2-infected...

Jul 2nd, 2020 - The rapid spread of COVID-19 represented the most serious issue to public health globally. Hematological patients as immunocompromised hosts are vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. There is rare information available regarding the clinical features of hematological patients concomitant with COVID-19. In this study, 9 concomitant patients were analyzed for their clinical manifestations, the labo...

Jul 2nd, 2020 - There have been over 7 million cases and almost 413,372 deaths globally due to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) associated disease COVID-19, as of June 11, 2020. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that there is a common source for these infections. The overall sequence similarities between the spike protein of 2019-nCoV and that of SARS-CoV are known to be around 76-78% and 73-76% for whole protei...

Jul 2nd, 2020 - After the novel coronavirus disease outbreak first began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the viral epidemic has quickly spread across the world, and it is now a major public health concern. Here we present a 21-year-old male with encephalomyelitis following intermittent vomiting and malaise for 4 days. He reported upper respiratory signs and symptoms 2 weeks before this presentation. Two cer...

Jul 2nd, 2020 - We report the detection and decline over time of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 antibodies in infants born to women with coronavirus disease. Among 11 infants tested at birth, all had detectable IgG and 5 had detectable IgM. IgG titers with positive IgM declined more slowly than those without.

Jul 2nd, 2020 - To determine prevalence of, seroprevalence of, and potential exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among a cohort of evacuees returning to the United States from Wuhan, China, in January 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional study of quarantined evacuees from 1 repatriation flight. Overall, 193 of 195 evacuees completed exposure surveys and submitted upper resp...

Jul 1st, 2020 - This study aimed to determine if sampling of oropharyngeal secretions (OSs) helps improves detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by nucleic acid amplification testing of potential patients with COVID-19. The first prospective study consisted of 75 patients with COVID-19 who were ready for discharge and who had 2 consecutive negative results per nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) of viral samples r...

Jul 1st, 2020 - The development, validation, and appropriate application of serological assays to detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 are essential to determining seroprevalence of this virus in the United States and globally and in guiding government leadership and the private sector on back-to-work policies. An interagency working group of the US Department of Health and Human Services convened a virtual worksho...

Jul 1st, 2020 - While severe coronavirus infections, including Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cause lung injury with high mortality rates, protective treatment strategies are not approved for clinical use. We elucidated the molecular mechanisms by which the cyclophilin inhibitors Cyclosporin A (CsA) and Alisporivir (ALV) restrict MERS-CoV to validate their suitability as readily-availa...

Jul 1st, 2020 - Objectives The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly spread globally. The laboratory diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection has relied on nucleic acid testing; however, it has some limitations, such as low throughput and high rates of false negatives. Tests of higher sensitivity are needed to effectively identify infected patients. Methods This study ha...

Jun 30th, 2020 - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a life-threatening respiratory illness caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Its clinical presentation can vary from the asymptomatic state to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multi-organ dysfunction. Due to our insufficient understanding of its pathophysiology and lack of effective treatment, the m...

Jun 30th, 2020 - Neurological manifestations have been reported in adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by the highly pathogenic virus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To report the neurological manifestations of children with COVID-19. In this case-series study, patients younger than 18 years who presented with SARS-CoV-2 infection and neurological sympt...

Jun 30th, 2020 - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - When musician Zoraiz Riaz set up a Facebook group to help coordinate convalescent plasma donations for people fighting COVID-19 in Pakistan, he expected perhaps a few hundred responses. Within a month, however, the "Corona Recovered Warriors" group had more than 320,000 members, needing a team of 33 volunteers to manage posts from families of patients across Pakistan seekin...

Jun 30th, 2020 - (Reuters) - An experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc showed promise and was found to be safe in an early-stage human trial, the company said on Tuesday. The vaccine, one of 17 being tested in humans and part of the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed program, induced immune responses in 34 of the 36 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 50 years, Inovio said. ...

Jun 30th, 2020 - LONDON (Reuters) - A Scottish biotechnology firm said on Tuesday it would start clinical trials on a possible T cell treatment for COVID-19, aimed at reducing the need for intensive care among hospitalised patients. T cells are white blood cells that form a key part of the immune system, along with antibodies, and scientists are hopeful they could play a role in tackling the novel coronavirus p...

Jun 30th, 2020 - Objectives SARS-CoV-2, causing COVID-19, has emerged to cause a human pandemic. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory samples by using PCR is the standard laboratory diagnostic tool. Our aim was to perform a limited evaluation of the diagnostic performance and user-friendliness of eleven rapid tests for detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Methods All participants were tested with PCR a...

Jun 30th, 2020 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. The race to develop a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is unlike any other global research and development effort in modern medicine. According to Paul A. Offit, MD, there are now 120 Investigational New Drug applications to the Food and Drug Administration for these vaccines, and researchers at more than 70 ...

Jun 29th, 2020 - Coagulopathy is one of the characteristics of critically ill patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) contribute to coagulopathy, but their role in COVID-19 remains unclear. We aimed to determine the prevalence and characteristics of aPLs in patients with COVID-19. Sera collected from 66 critically ill and 13 non-critically ill patients with COVID-19...

Jun 29th, 2020 - We have recently published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis the presence of lupus anticoagulant (LAC) at high frequency in Covid-19 patients (1). Different authors had confirmed these results (2). Connell and colleagues had discussed, in the Journal, technical points concerning LAC as well as anti-phospholipids (aPL) auto-antibodies detection (3).