COVID-19 links to type 1 diabetes investigated. Drinking test is promising

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

Study suggests that coronavirus may be associated with type 1 diabetes

A small study in the UK suggests that researchers should pay attention to whether COVID-19 increases the risk of type 1 diabetes. Scientists said on Monday in a study based on 30 cases at two hospitals, the Diabetes Care Journal could have increased cases of type 1 diabetes at the peak of the UK COVID-19 outbreak. They said this represented an 80% increase compared to a typical year. “In further investigation, some of these children were either infected with the active coronavirus or had previously been exposed to the virus,” said study co-author Karen Logan of St Mary’s Hospital in London. Type 1 diabetes-formerly known as juvenile diabetes-destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, preventing the body from producing enough insulin to regulate blood glucose levels. The researchers said that one explanation might be that the new coronavirus might attack insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. “We need more research to see if there’s a definitive link… but we want clinicians to keep this in mind for the time being,” said Logan. (; reut.rs/2YgEhZQ)

COVID-19 Breath Screening Shows Early Prospects

The researchers say that one day it may be possible to use a breath test to screen a large population of COVID-19. Their new breath aligner device has a sensor made of gold nanoparticles linked to a specially selected molecule that can detect disease-specific chemical biomarkers from exhaled breath. They reported on Tuesday in the journal ACS Nano. In a pilot study conducted in March in Wuhan, China, a team of Chinese and Israeli researchers tested the device on 49 COVID-19 patients, 58 healthy subjects, and 33 non-COVID lung infection patients. .. In this small study, the device identified patients with COVID-19 and showed 100% sensitivity to distinguish them from patients with other lung infections, but accurately identified patients without COVID-19 It wasn’t very effective to do. Researchers say their devices aren’t meant to replace gold-standard diagnostic tests, but if their credibility can be proven by larger studies, they can “scale up quickly in public places such as airports.” May be useful for rapid screening of populations.” Shopping centers, train stations, or communities for early detection of illness in asymptomatic contagious people. ()

COVID-19 and cold have different olfactory and taste loss

The new scent and taste disorders associated with the new coronavirus, unlike those people experience with the cold, are likely to be associated with nerve damage, new research suggests. The researchers conducted odor and taste tests on 10 COVID-19 patients, 10 cold patients, and 10 healthy people. Unlike those with a cold, COVID-19 patients were able to breathe freely and were not prone to runny nose or stuffy nose. Moreover, they were unable to detect bitterness or sweetness and had an overall more severe taste disorder. The original SARS virus that caused the global outbreak of respiratory disease in 2003 could invade the brain, researchers pointed out in a report in Wednesday’s journal Rhinology, and their new finding is COVID-19. The brain and central nervous system said to weight the hypothesis of infection. “It’s of particular interest that COVID-19 seems to have a particular effect on sweet and bitter taste receptors, because they are known to play important roles in innate immunity,” East of England. In a statement by Carl Philpot, co-author of Norwich Medical School at Anglia University. “More research is needed to determine whether genetic variants in bitterness and sweetness receptors in people predispose them to COVID-19.” ()

Vascular cells divide with severe COVID-19

Investigators suspect that thrombosis, a well-known complication of COVID-19, is due, at least in part, to damage to the endothelium or lining of blood vessels. One study is now confirming that severe COVID-19 is associated with “significant widespread” damage to blood vessels. It can be seen that many cells that make up the inner layer of blood vessels are usually detached and circulate in the blood. As reported Wednesday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, French researchers measured levels of so-called circulating endothelial cells detached from damaged blood vessels in 99 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Levels were significantly higher in intensive care unit patients and correlated with patient levels of inflammatory proteins, disease severity scores, and length of hospital stay. The researchers tested each patient’s blood only once, so they could see how damage to the vascular lining develops as the disease worsens. Nevertheless, he said that vascular linings play an important role in maintaining vascular stability and function, pumping blood to organs and regulating blood coagulation, and endothelial damage impairs their function. ()

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