Researchers from Helmholtz Munich and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) have identified a mechanism that may explain the neurological symptoms of Long COVID. The study shows that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein remains in the brain’s protective layers, the meninges, and the skull’s bone marrow for up to four years after infection. This persistent presence of the spike protein could trigger chronic inflammation in affected individuals and increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. The team, led by Prof. Ali Ertürk, Director at the Institute for Intelligent Biotechnologies at Helmholtz Munich, also found that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines significantly reduce the accumulation of the spike protein in the brain. However, the persistence of spike protein after infection in the skull and meninges offers a target for new therapeutic strategies.
Comments closedTag: Germany
Probe links COVID spread to school bus riders from sick driver
The proportion of children infected with COVID-19 while riding a bus to a school in Germany was about four times higher than in peers who didn’t ride the bus, illustrating efficient transmission during multiple short rides on public transport, finds a study published this week in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
A team led by researchers from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin and public health officials used surveillance data, lab analyses, case-patient and household interviews, a cohort study of all students in grades 1 to 4, and a cohort study of bus riders to investigate a 2021 COVID-19 outbreak that involved an infected bus driver and his passengers. The rides lasted 9 to 18 minutes, and multiple schools in a single district were involved.
Comments closedResearchers investigate a man who received 217 Covid vaccinations
Researchers at FAU find no negative effects on immune system
Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen have examined a man who has received more than 200 vaccinations against Covid-19. They learned of his case via newspaper reports. Until now, it has been unclear what affects hypervaccination such as this would have on the immune system. Some scientists were of the opinion that immune cells would become less effective after becoming used to the antigens. This proved not to be the case in the individual in question: his immune system is fully functional. Certain immune cells and antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 are even present in considerably higher concentrations than is the case with people who have only received three vaccinations. The results have been published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.
More than 60 million people in Germany have been vaccinated against SARS-Coronavirus 2, the majority of them several times. The man who has now been examined by researchers at FAU claims to have received 217 vaccinations for private reasons. There is official confirmation for 134 of these vaccinations.
“We learned about his case via newspaper articles,” explains Privatdozent Dr. Kilian Schober from the Institute of Microbiology – Clinical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene (director Prof. Dr. Christian Bogdan). “We then contacted him and invited him to undergo various tests in Erlangen. He was very interested in doing so.” Schober and his colleagues wanted to know what consequences hypervaccination such as this would have. How does it alter the immune response?
Comments closedCOVID-19 rates are rising again — what you need to know
People are getting infected with COVID subvariant JN.1, but there are ways to protect yourself, your loved ones and the community over the holiday season.
Comments closedHow COVID Truthers Breathed New Life Into an Antisemitic Symbol
The widespread appropriation by COVID truthers of the yellow star that the Nazis forced Jews to wear is a sign that public displays of antisemitism have become normalised in modern Germany to an unthinkable degree, experts say.
Comments closedIf you’re still wearing a cloth or surgical mask when you’re out and about, it’s time to rethink your face covering.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to update its mask advice this week to best reflect the available options and the different levels of protection they provide, a CDC official told CNN Tuesday.
Comments closedGermany’s Anti-vaccination History Is Riddled With Anti-Semitism
Jewish people were blamed for spreading disease, and considered expendable victims.
Comments closedWhat We Can Learn from Six Countries’ Pandemic Battle Plans
Laissez-faire. Lockdowns. Mitigation. Testing. Denial. Elimination.
The world has responded to the pandemic with a diversity of strategies.
Some appear to be working well, while others are just coping or failing altogether.
And history appears to have prepared some countries better than others.
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