Pandemics can affect the development of the baby’s brain.Coronavirus can cause scarring of the kidneys

In a care center at an indoor sports facility in New Delhi, India, a healthcare worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) has a temperature of an infant whose mother has coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Check. , January 5, 2022. REUTERS / Adnan Abidi

January 5 (Reuters)-The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They require further research to support the findings and include studies that have not yet been certified by peer review.

Pandemics can affect the baby’s brain

Coronavirus infection during pregnancy does not appear to affect the brain function of the baby, but the pandemic itself may be. JAMA Pediatrics I will propose.

New York City researchers tracked 255 full-term infants born during the pandemic. Of these, 114 had their mothers infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy. When the baby was six months old, researchers saw “no effects of maternal infections from SARS-CoV-2” on neurodevelopment, said Dr. Dani Dumitriu of Columbia University and the New York State Institute of Psychiatry. But overall, compared to 62 babies born before the pandemic, babies born during the health crisis have tasks involving large muscles, tasks that require small muscle movements, and personal interactions. The score of action was slightly lower. The findings do not necessarily mean that these babies suffer from long-term consequences, Dumitriu said. She added that the assessment after 6 months was insufficient to predict long-term outcomes.

If additional studies confirm that childbirth during a pandemic adversely affects neurodevelopment, she says, “This is a very early stage, so there are plenty of opportunities to intervene and put these babies on the right developmental trajectory. There is. “

Coronavirus can cause scarring of the kidneys

New laboratory studies have found that coronavirus can directly damage the kidneys by initiating a cascade of molecular events that lead to scarring. The resulting scar tissue can have long-term effects on survivor’s renal function. Cell stem cell..

Researchers have exposed a small replica of the kidney to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in vitro. They found that the virus could infect multiple types of kidney cells and trigger a “molecular switch” that initiates the scarring process. The findings suggest a high rate of decline in kidney function. Another study Of the more than 90,000 COVID-19 survivors, researchers say, it may be due to viral scarring of the kidneys.

In a statement, Jitske Jansen of the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands said her team found another “puzzle piece showing the harmful effects of the virus on the body.”

Reduced risk of COVID-19 seen after weight loss surgery

Weight loss surgery may reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 even if the infected person is obese after weight loss, according to reports. JAMA surgery..

The researchers studied 20,212 obese adults, including 5,053 who underwent obesity surgery prior to the pandemic and lost significant weight. On average, people in the surgery group were still technically obese, but weighed about 44 pounds (20 kg) less than the study participants who had not undergone surgery. The SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in the two groups was similar at about 9%, but infected patients who had previously undergone weight loss surgery had a 49% lower risk of hospitalization and a 63% risk of needing oxygen supplementation. It is low and has a% lower risk of serious illness or death compared to the 60 non-surgery group. Obesity is a well-known risk factor for poor COVID-19 outcomes, but since this study was not a randomized trial, it cannot be proven that weight loss surgery yielded better outcomes. Still, according to the author, patients who have undergone weight loss surgery are more likely to be healthy when infected.

In a statement, Cleveland Clinic co-author Dr. Steven Nissen said the results “support the reversibility of the health effects of obesity” in patients with COVID-19. “This study suggests that weight loss as a public health strategy can improve the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is very important given that 40% of Americans are obese. It’s a discovery. “

Click Reuters graphics About the vaccine under development.

Report by Nancy Rapid and Megan Brooks. Edited by Bill Berkrot

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