Sep 25th, 2021 - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a 1st wave in Europe from March to May 2020 and a 2nd wave since September 2020. We previously studied 35 hospitalized COVID-19 patients of the 1st wave demonstrating a cytokine storm and the exhaustion of most lymphocyte subpopulations. Herein, we describe the results obtained from COVID-19 patients of the 2nd wave. We analyzed interleukin (IL)-...

Sep 25th, 2021 - To evaluate the efficacy and safety of antiviral antibody therapies and blood products for the treatment of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). Living systematic review and network meta-analysis, with pairwise meta-analysis for outcomes with insufficient data. WHO covid-19 database, a comprehensive multilingual source of global covid-19 literature, and six Chinese databases (up to 21 Jul...

Sep 25th, 2021 - Although serological studies have shown that antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 play an important role in protection against (re)infection, the dynamics of mucosal antibodies during primary infection and their potential impact on viral load and the resolution of disease symptoms remain unclear. During the first pandemic wave, we assessed the longitudinal nasal antibody response in index cases with m...

Sep 25th, 2021 - We designed a population-based survey in Kashmir to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies in the general population aged 18 years and above. The survey was conducted among 110 villages and urban wards across 10 districts in Kashmir from 17 October 2020 to 4 November 2020. Individuals aged 18 years and above were eligible to be included in the survey. Serum samples we...

Sep 25th, 2021 - In vitro determination of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 neutralizing antibodies induced in serum samples from recipients of the CoronaVac vaccine showed a short protection period against the original virus strain and limited protection against variants of concern. These data provide support for vaccine boosters, especially variants of concern circulate.

Sep 24th, 2021 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Within a day of testing positive for covid-19 in June, Miranda Kelly was sick enough to be scared. At 44, with diabetes and high blood pressure, Kelly, a certified nursing assistant, was having trouble breathing, symptoms serious enough to send her to the emergency room. When her husband, Joe, 4...

Sep 24th, 2021 - Along with the nasal epithelium, the lung epithelium is a portal of entry for sudden acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and many other respiratory viruses. In the case of SARS-CoV-2, the virus surface spike proteins bind to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptor to facilitate entry into the respiratory epithelium. Alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells are committed respir...

Sep 24th, 2021 - SARS-CoV-2 remains a global threat to human health particularly as escape mutants emerge. There is an unmet need for effective treatments against COVID-19 for which neutralizing single domain antibodies (nanobodies) have significant potential. Their small size and stability mean that nanobodies are compatible with respiratory administration. We report four nanobodies (C5, H3, C1, F2) engineered...

Sep 24th, 2021 - The influenza virus annually causes widespread damages to the health and economy of the global community. Vaccination is currently the most crucial strategy in reducing the number of patients. Genetic variations, the high diversity of pandemic viruses, and zoonoses make it challenging to select suitable strains for annual vaccine production. If new pandemic viruses emerge, it will take a long t...

Sep 24th, 2021 - Neutralizing antibodies can reduce SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry, viral titers, and pathologic damage. CT-P59 (regdanvimab), a SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing monoclonal antibody, was examined in 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose, Phase I studies. In study 1.1, healthy adults were sequentially enrolled to receive CT-P59 10, 20, 40, or 80 mg/kg or placebo. In study 1.2, a...

Sep 23rd, 2021 - The addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to erlotinib (Tarceva) continued to provide a significant progression-free survival (PFS) benefit over erlotinib alone when used in the frontline treatment of patients with EGFR-mutated, nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to data from the final analysis of the phase 3 BEVERLY trial (NCT02633189).1 The data, which were virtually pre...

Sep 23rd, 2021 - The microbiological diagnosis of skin lesions related to COVID-19 is not well known. Perform a microbiological diagnosis in COVID19-related cutaneous manifestations. A cross-sectional study was performed with 64 patients with cutaneous manifestations associated with COVID-19 who underwent serological and nasopharyngeal RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2. Out of the 64 patients, 6 patients had positive RT-PC...

Sep 23rd, 2021 - The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants has led to growing concerns over increased transmissibility and the ability of some variants to partially escape immunity. Sera from participants immunized on a prime-boost schedule with the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine were tested for neutralizing activity against several SARS-CoV-2 variants, including variant...

Sep 23rd, 2021 - Understanding the molecular basis for immune recognition of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein antigenic sites will inform the development of improved therapeutics. We determined the structures of two human monoclonal antibodies-AZD8895 and AZD1061-which form the basis of the investigational antibody cocktail AZD7442, in complex with the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 to define the gene...

Sep 23rd, 2021 - Rituximab is associated with prolonged B-cell depletion and secondary hypogammaglobulinemia and is associated with a dampened humoral response and increased infectious complications. To describe the potential impact of prior rituximab therapy on clinical outcomes from SARS-CoV-2 infection and development of COVID-19 antibodies, we conducted a retrospective study of adults across the Mount Sinai...

Sep 23rd, 2021 - The speed of development, versatility and efficacy of mRNA-based vaccines have been amply demonstrated in the case of SARS-CoV-2. DNA vaccines represent an important alternative since they induce both humoral and cellular immune responses in animal models and in human trials. We tested the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of DNA-based vaccine regimens expressing different prefusion-stabil...

Sep 23rd, 2021 - Studies are urgently needed to characterize immunogenicity, efficacy, and safety of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in kidney transplant (KT) recipients, excluded from major clinical trials. Complex ELISPOT and other cellular response techniques have been applied, but simpler tools are needed. An easy-to-use real-world monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies against the Spike protein and QuantiFERON® ...

Sep 23rd, 2021 - We assessed the safety and immunogenicity of a recombinant adenovirus type-5 (Ad5)-vectored COVID-19 vaccine with homologous prime-boost regimens in healthy participants aged 6 years and above. In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, participants received low-dose vaccine, middle-dose vaccine or placebo. Prime-booster regimens were given intramuscularly 56 days apart. ELISA ...

Sep 23rd, 2021 - Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) are extremely vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection and show an impaired immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. We analyzed factors related to vaccination efficiency in KTRs. In a multicenter prospective observational study (NCT04743947), IgG antibodies levels against SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 subunit and their neutralization capacity after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination ...

Sep 22nd, 2021 - Convalescent plasma has emerged as a potential specific treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), since it contains severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies. Several studies are currently investigating the efficacy of convalescent plasma for treatment of COVID-19, with a focus on neutralizing antibodies. However, there is little information on whether con...