Pulmonary radiation indicates the potential for COVID-19 pneumonia. Smoking poses a risk

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

Pulmonary radiation may speed recovery of COVID-19 pneumonia

Small doses of radiation to the lungs of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia can help them recover more quickly, a small study suggests. A doctor at Emory University in Atlanta treated 10 such patients with pulmonary radiation and compared them with 10 patients of the same age who received normal care without radiation. With radiotherapy, the mean time to significant improvement was 3 days, compared to 12 days in the control group.

Other potential effects include shorter mean time to discharge (12 days with radiation vs. 20 days without radiation) and reduced risk of mechanical ventilation (10% with radiation vs. 40% without radiation). It is included. But the differences between the two were too small to rule out the possibility of chance, the researchers found.

Dr. Mohammad Khan of Emory told Reuters that the radiation group was “a little older, a little sick, a little lung damaged…”, but there were still strong signs of effectiveness.

Khan said the results reflect the effects of radiation alone, as COVID-19 was withheld from treatment before and after treatment in the radiation group.

“Radiation therapy” can reduce lung inflammation in COVID-19 patients and reduce the cytokines that cause inflammation. Cytokines are proteins made by the immune system. Results for the first five patients were published in Cancer magazine.

All 10 results were posted on Tuesday prior to peer review on the website medRxiv. Researchers hope to start a randomized controlled trial of treatment and eventually include multiple centers. ()

Smoking may increase serious COVID-19 risk in young adults

According to survey data, nearly one-third of young American adults are at high risk of severe COVID-19 and smoke the strongest risk factor.

Researchers examined data from more than 8,000 participants aged 18 to 25 in a national health interview survey of national representatives from 2016 to 2018. In addition, participants’ medical conditions identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were identified by all age groups who were “medically vulnerable” to severe coronavirus illness.

Among these are diabetes, heart disease, immune problems, smoking, uncontrolled HIV or AIDS, and respiratory disease. Overall, 32% of the young adults surveyed were considered medically vulnerable to severe COVID-19. However, only 16% of young adults who quit smoking were considered medically vulnerable.

“Efforts to reduce youth smoking and e-cigarette use are likely to reduce their medical vulnerability to severe illness.” “Our analysis shows that smoking and e-cigarette use risks men , Caucasian, low-income, and highest among young people who are not fully or partially insured.” ()

Coronavirus rarely crosses the placenta

It is unclear whether the coronavirus can cross the uterus from mother to fetus.

On Tuesday, a French doctor reported a very rare case suggesting a possible placenta-mediated infection. In the journal Nature Communications, they described a preterm baby for a mother with COVID-19. They found the virus in the blood of mothers and babies as well as placental tissue, which suggests that transplacental transmission of the new coronavirus may be possible, but further research is needed. Both the mother and the baby have recovered.

Marian Knight, a professor of maternal and child health at Oxford University, said the case shouldn’t be a big worry for pregnant women. Of the thousands of babies born to virus-infected mothers, only 1% to 2% were reported to have positive reactions, Knight said. (reut.rs/3h3xWry; go.nature.com/2WmjWRz)

Promising results from early trials of the new vaccine

Moderna Corporation (MRNA.OThe COVID-19, mRNA-1273 vaccine was a safe and elicited immune response in all 45 healthy volunteers in a human phase 1 trial. Volunteers vaccinated twice had levels of viral killing antibodies above the average level found in the recovered COVID-19 patients.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who developed the Moderna vaccine candidate, called the results good news. Fauci noted that there were no serious adverse events in the study, and the vaccine produced “reasonably high” levels of virus killing or neutralizing antibodies.

“If the vaccine can provoke a response comparable to a natural infection, it’s a winner,” Forti told Reuters. “That’s why we’re so happy with the results.” A Phase 2 trial testing the effectiveness of the vaccine in a large group that started in May.

A much larger Phase 3 trial to confirm efficacy and identify rare side effects will be launched this month, eventually involving 30,000 participants. Apart from this, early human trial data on a vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca (AZN.L) And Oxford University will be published on July 20, the Lancet Medical Journal said Wednesday. (reut.rs/3hemOs3; )

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