Articles: coronavirus.
-
Meta Analysis
The causal relationship between gut microbiota and COVID-19: A two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis.
Recent studies have shown that gut microbiota is associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the causal impact of the gut microbiota on COVID-19 remains unclear. We performed a bidirectional Mendelian randomization. ⋯ This study provides a basis for the theory of the gut-lung axis. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to clarify the protective effect of probiotics against COVID-19 and the specific protective mechanisms. This study has important implications for gut microbiota as a nondrug intervention for COVID-19.
-
Critical care medicine · Feb 2024
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Pneumonia in Critically Ill Patients: A Cluster Analysis According to Baseline Characteristics, Biological Features, and Chest CT Scan on Admission.
Inconsistent results from COVID-19 studies raise the issue of patient heterogeneity. ⋯ Three clusters with distinct characteristics and outcomes were identified. Such clusters could facilitate the identification of targeted populations for the next trials.
-
Antiandrogen therapy can reduce the expression of transmembrane protease 2, which is essential for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 to enter the host cells. Prior trials suggested the efficacy of antiandrogen agents in patients with COVID-19. We investigated whether antiandrogen agents reduce mortality compared to placebo or usual care. ⋯ Antiandrogen therapy reduced mortality and clinical worsening in adult patients with COVID-19.
-
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a major impact on human life. This review highlights the versatile roles of both classical and modern structure-based approaches for COVID-19. ⋯ Further progress into protein structure modeling was made using modern structure-based approaches derived from homology modeling and integrated with artificial intelligence (AI), facilitating advanced computational simulation tools to actively guide the design of new vaccines and the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs. This review presents the practical contributions and future directions of structure-based approaches for COVID-19.
-
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, reports of vaccine-induced myocarditis, particularly messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based myocarditis, were widely spread. This case series describes various cases of COVID-19 vaccine-induced myocarditis confirmed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including those who were administered rare protein-based vaccines. Eleven patients comprising eight males and three females with suspected myocarditis underwent cardiac MRI at Taichung Veterans General Hospital between October 2021 and May 2022. ⋯ Among four patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), two showed LVEF restoration during the follow-up period, and the other two were lost to follow-up. Cardiac MRI characterizes myocardial features such as edema, inflammation, and fibrosis, and has been proven to diagnose myocarditis accurately with a sensitivity of 87.5% and a specificity of 96.2% according to the 2018 Lake Louise criteria. This diagnosis was achieved without invasive procedures such as endomyocardial biopsy or coronary angiography.