A pandemic associated with a surge in diabetes in children.Immune response types last months after Pfizer / BioNTech vaccination

June 28 (Reuters)-The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific research on the new coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for the virus-induced disease COVID-19.

Pandemic associated with a rapid increase in type 2 diabetes in children

Hospitalization rates for newly diagnosed children with type 2 diabetes more than doubled during the pandemic, the two hospitals effectively reported at the American Diabetes Association’s scientific session this year. At the Hour Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, children newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes accounted for 0.62% of inpatients between March and December 2020, up from 0.27% in the previous year. Dr. Daniel Sia of the Pennington Center for Biomedical Research in Baton Rouge, although these numbers are small, said, “But it is important that this rate has more than doubled in the past year.” Children hospitalized in 2020 had higher blood sugar levels, more dehydration, and severe diabetes than children hospitalized the previous year, he said. At the National Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC, another team reported that new cases of type 2 diabetes in children increased by 233% between 2019 and 2020, and children were more ill than the previous year. Most of these children in both hospitals were previously uninfected with COVID-19. Measuring social distance may have prevented children from engaging in regular physical activity, contributing to weight gain, and preventing parents from taking them to routine medical care. “Our research emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle for children in such difficult situations,” Hsia said in a statement. (((https://bit.ly/2T4HsV6).

The “factory” of immune cells continues to function long after mRNA vaccination

A small “factory” of lymph nodes that mass-produce antibody-producing B cells to fight infection, called germinal centers, keeps COVID-19 away for months after people receive the mRNA vaccine from BioNTech and Pfizer. It was working like this. (PFE.N), According to a new study. After most vaccinations, germinal centers last for only a few weeks. Ali Elbedy of the University of Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis co-authored a report in Nature on Monday. “The germinal center is where our immunological memory is formed, and the longer the germinal center, the stronger our immunity, because there is a vigorous selection process that takes place there and only the best immune cells survive. It is more durable. ”Researchers studied cells from the germinal center of the armpit lymph nodes of 14 recipients of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. Three weeks after the first dose, all 14 had germinal centers still producing B cells. They reported that B cell production “significantly expanded” after the second shot and remained high. Germinal centers were still functioning in 8 of the 10 biopsies 15 weeks after the first dose. “We are still monitoring germinal centers, and … for some people, they are still in progress,” Ellebedy said. “This is really amazing.” Researchers believe that the same effect is likely to apply to Moderna’s O> mRNA vaccine. Ultimately, immune cells, called T cells, maintain their function even after the germinal center disappears. Researchers then plan to investigate the magnitude and endurance of T cell responses after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. (((https://go.nature.com/3jr3WtZ).

Following AstraZeneca on Pfizer Shot promotes antibody response

Vaccine Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 4 weeks after AstraZeneca (AZN.L) Researchers at Oxford University said on Monday that Shot produces a better immune response than a second dose of AstraZeneca. In a study of 830 elderly people, a two-difference schedule of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines resulted in higher levels of antibodies against coronavirus than the full AstraZeneca schedule. The most effective approach, a double dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech mRNA vaccine, produced about 10 times higher antibody levels than the double dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, researchers reported in a Lancet preprint on Friday. However, a shot of AstraZeneca followed by a Pfizer jab induced two doses of Pfizer / BioNTech antibody levels. I shot Pfizer first, then AstraZeneca, but with less success. The combination resulted in higher antibody levels than two doses of AstraZeneca but lower than two doses of Pfizer vaccine. There were no new safety issues identified in this study. Professor Matthew Snape of Oxford University behind the trial said the findings can be used to give flexibility to vaccine deployment, but not as important as recommending a significant shift from a clinically approved schedule. Said. (((https://bit.ly/3xXX37B).

COVID-19, not Pfizer’s vaccine, is linked to Bell’s palsy

The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine is not associated with an increased risk of facial paralysis known as Bell’s palsy, but COVID-19 itself increases the risk, it was announced Thursday at JAMA Otorhinolaryngology. Two separate studies-suggesting head and neck surgery. One study involved 110 Israeli people who received the Pfizer vaccine. Thirty-seven of them developed characteristic facial sagging on average 9 days after the first dose or 14 days after the second dose. After considering the underlying risk factors for Bell’s palsy, the researchers concluded that the vaccine itself did not increase the risk. In addition, they found that the incidence of Bell’s palsy was not increased during the deployment of the vaccine. In the second study, researchers compared the Bell’s palsy rate of about 348,000 patients with COVID-19 and about 63,500 vaccinated with coronavirus. They found that the risk of Bell’s palsy was almost 7-fold higher in patients with COVID-19. “Our data suggest that the incidence of facial nerve paralysis is higher in COVID-19-positive patients, which is higher than the reported incidence of Bell’s palsy with the COVID-19 vaccine. “Masu,” said Dr. Akina Tamaki of University Hospitals Cleveland Medical. The center that co-authored the research. “In summary, it confirms that the vaccine is safe in terms of facial paralysis.” (((https://bit.ly/2Tiw6wx, https://bit.ly/3hgiEBu,and https://bit.ly/3y3mi8A).

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Reported by Nancy Lapid, Megan Brooks, Marilynn Larkin and Alistair Smout. Edited by Bill Berkrot

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