Treatments

Correlation between universal BCG vaccination policy and reduced morbidity and mortality for COVID-19: an epidemiological study

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“We found that countries without universal policies of BCG vaccination [against tuberculosis], such as Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States, have been more severely affected compared to countries with universal and long-standing BCG policies,” noted the researchers led by Gonzalo Otazu, assistant professor of biomedical sciences at New York Institute of Technology. Warning: This … 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

Considering cytokine storm syndromes and immunosuppression

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Article Link: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30628-0/fulltext#articleInformation With the outbreak of a novel virus, antiviral treatments and vaccine development are at the forefront of research. This article urges the consideration of screening COVID-19 patients for signs of hyperinflammation which could signal that they are experiencing a so called “cytokine storm” in response to the virus. This has been seen … 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