Kian Caplan

“Early peek at data on Gilead coronavirus drug suggests patients are responding to treatment”

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Article link: https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/16/early-peek-at-data-on-gilead-coronavirus-drug-suggests-patients-are-responding-to-treatment/ Authors: Adam Feuerstein and Matthew HerperPublished on April 16, 2020, in STAT Magazine This article discusses some incredibly promising preliminary results from a clinical trial involving the treatment of severe COVID-19 patients with remdesivir, Gilead’s investigational antiviral drug.

“New York now leads every country in coronavirus cases”

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Article link: https://nypost.com/2020/04/09/new-york-now-leads-world-in-coronavirus-with-160000-cases/ Authors: Bernadette Hogan and Natalie Musumeci Published on April 9, 2020, in the New York Post As of today (4/9/2020), the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in NY state alone has reached a whopping 160,000 – surpassing total case numbers reported by any country in the world at this time.

‘A Tragedy Is Unfolding’: Inside New York’s Virus Epicenter

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Article link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/nyregion/coronavirus-queens-corona-jackson-heights-elmhurst.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage Authors: Annie Correal and Andrew JacobsPublished on April 9, 2020, in the New York Times This is an excellent piece discussing the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 throughout disadvantaged NYC communities.

Freeman, “Inovio Pharmaceuticals begins human trials for COVID-19 vaccine”

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Article link: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/biotech/story/2020-04-06/inovio-pharmaceuticals-begins-phase-1-human-trials-for-covid-19-vaccine Author: Mike FreemanPublished on April 6, 2020, San Diego Union-Tribune Developed by Inovio Pharmaceuticals, a novel plasmid DNA-based vaccine to prevent COVID-19 has started its first phase of clinical testing with humans. Unlike traditional vaccines, this one will artificially incorporate the DNA of antibodies that destroy the virus into the patient’s own … Read more

Hawryluk, “Heart Damage in COVID Patients Puzzles Doctors”

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Article link: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heart-damage-in-covid-patients-puzzles-doctors/ Author: Markian Hawryluk (Kaiser Health News)Published in the Scientific American on April 6, 2020, Hawryluk describes yet another problem that complicates the treatment of COVID-19: 1 in 5 hospitalized COVID-19 patients exhibit injuries to the heart, putting them at an elevated risk for failure. However, unlike previous reports of this issue in … Read more

Downs, “COVID-19: How cannabis companies are helping in the crisis”

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Article link: https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/covid19-marijuana-companies-help-leafly Published on March 31, 2020, this article highlights the various ways in which the flourishing U.S. cannabis industry is productively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturing and donating essential supplies to at-need community services (hospitals, police, etc.) across the nation. In fact, they were able to do this simply by repurposing the … Read more

Cheng et al., “Organ‐protective Effect of Angiotensin‐converting Enzyme 2 and its Effect on the Prognosis of COVID‐19”

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Article link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jmv.25785 Published in the Journal of Medical Virology on March 27, 2020, Cheng and colleagues demonstrate that an enzyme found in the lungs, Angiotensin-converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2), is highly protective against acute lung injury – particularly in the case of COVID-19 patients who are in critical condition. Therefore, the authors believe that the … Read more

Literature Review: Identification of Potential COVID-19 Treatments

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Article link: http://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/aaem/index.php/AAEM/article/view/596/740 At this time, there are no FDA-approved treatments for COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are still being developed or tested. By identifying potential COVID-19 treatments that are already approved for human use with other conditions, the expansive timeline for drug testing can become streamlined. Published on March 21 in the Archives of Academic … Read more