Articles: sars-cov-2.
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To evaluate seroconverted asymptomatic COVID-19 in pediatric Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases (ARDs) patients and to identify the risk factors related to contagion. ⋯ Pediatric rheumatic disease patients were infected at the same rate as healthy ones. Neither the underlying pathology nor its immunosuppressive treatment seemed to interfere with contagion risk.
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Following the high morbidity and mortality due to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in New Orleans, Louisiana, we sought to assess progress toward herd immunity. ⋯ SARS-COV-2 IgG antibodies were prevalent only in 8% of the participants. IgG prevalence was highest among non-Hispanic Blacks and participants with higher BMI but was lower among older participants.
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Relatively low SARS-CoV-2 reinfection rates have been reported in vaccinated individuals, but updates considering the Omicron variant are lacking. ⋯ The SARS-CoV-2 reinfection rate rose significantly during the Omicron wave despite a high primary vaccination coverage rate. Almost one-third of reinfected workers had a vaccine booster ≥ 14 days before the last COVID-19 episode.
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After an acute treatment for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), some symptoms may persist for several weeks, for example: fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint pain, cough, loss of taste and smell, sleep and memory disturbances, depression. Many viruses manipulate mitochondrial function, but the exact mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 virus effect remain unclear. We tested the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 virus may affect mitochondrial energy production and endogenous biosynthesis of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). ⋯ We assume that a reduced concentration of endogenous CoQ10 may partially block electron transfer in the respiratory chain resulting in a reduced adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in the patients after COVID-19. Targeted mitochondrial therapy with CoQ10 supplementation and spa rehabilitation may improve mitochondrial health and accelerate the recovery of the patients after COVID-19. Platelet mitochondrial function and CoQ10 content may be useful mitochondrial health biomarkers after SARS-CoV-2 infection (Tab. 3, Fig. 3, Ref. 46).
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Eur. J. Intern. Med. · Jan 2022
Management of COVID patients with convalescent plasma: Do we have the final word?
Immunotherapy with convalescent plasma (CP) has been used in the past in several different infectious diseases and proposed as a potential therapeutic option in patients with COVID-19. However, a clear benefit was never demonstrated and randomized clinical trials (RCTs) conducted in different populations of COVID-19 patients showed contrasting results. In general, current evidences suggest that CP in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 does not reduce the progression to severe respiratory failure or death within 30 days. ⋯ The administration of plasma with low titer of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), the use of suboptimal surrogate serological tests to determine NAbs titer, the delayed administration of CP from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms and the lack of information about antibody titer of recipients before CP infusion, are all limiting factors that may have affected the study results. Thus, a potential benefit of early (within the first 72 h from onset of symptoms), high titer CP in patients with mild COVID-19 (pO2/FiO2>300) cannot be definitively excluded. However, immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies developed from CP demonstrated efficacy in reducing progression to severe COVID-19 and hospitalization and are today recommended in the early phase of COVID-19.