Tag: research
Long COVID presents ‘unfathomable’ burden as health-care system reaches ‘boiling point’
Dr. Jennifer Hulme thought her COVID-19 infection was just “average.” She recovered in a matter of days and went back to work.
Several weeks later she was incapacitated.
“I woke up completely disabled, profoundly ill (and) completely changed from my previous self,” the Toronto emergency room doctor said.
Comments closedTime
July 17, 2023
The list of neurocognitive issues that Meropol’s team and other researchers must track is extensive: cognitive decline, changes in brain size and structure, depression and suicidal thinking, tremors, seizures, memory loss, and new or worsened dementia have all been linked to previous SARS-CoV-2 infections. In some cases, these longer-term problems occur even in patients with relatively mild COVID-19.
Comments closedUniversity of Alberta
July 13, 2023
Comments closedWashington University in St. Louis
July 10, 2023
Comments closedWastewater sampling in Canada suggests COVID case rate 19 times higher than reported
At the peak of a SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant wave in Ontario, wastewater sampling conducted before the surge suggested that COVID-19 cases were 19 times higher than reported because of changes in clinical testing.
Study: Sperm counts decline even after mild COVID infections
Men recently infected with COVID-19 have decreased sperm counts for more than 3 months following even mild infections, and the sperm they do produce is less able to swim, according to new findings presented today at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Denmark.
The findings are intriguing because men produce new sperm every 2 or 3 months, and the findings are based on semen analyses taken after 100 days, suggesting COVID does long-term damage to the male reproductive tract.
Comments closedA Common Diabetes Drug May Prevent Long COVID in Some People
The drug metformin cut long COVID risk by 41 percent in both people who were overweight and those with obesity. But treatments remain elusive.
Comments closedNew imaging technique captures COVID-19’s impact on the brain
Comments closedSome may think COVID-19 affects just the lungs. What was found is that this new MRI technique that we created is very good at identifying changes to the brain due to COVID-19. COVID-19 changes the white matter in the brain.
Study: At-Home Rapid COVID Tests May Miss Many Infections
According to a new study, rapid antigen tests may provide false negatives — suggesting that a person is infection-free, even though other parts of their respiratory tract are teeming with the virus. The researchers found that most people showed a delay of several days between when the virus first appeared in the throat or saliva and when it appeared in the nose. Importantly, 15 of the 17 study participants had high levels of the virus for at least a day prior to getting a positive result.
Comments closedMillions of Patients Do Not Have Full Recovery of Smell or Taste Senses After COVID Infection, Study Finds
Retrospective analysis of national data led by investigators from Mass Eye and Ear estimates that over 20 million COVID patients experienced loss of smell or taste in 2021, with a large portion of patients never fully recovering these senses.
Comments closedMillions of patients do not have full recovery of smell or taste senses after COVID infection, study finds
A retrospective study by researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, investigated the loss of olfactory and gustatory senses and estimated that about a quarter of Americans who had COVID-19 reported only partial or no recovery of taste or smell.
Comments closedCovid-19: Metformin reduces the risk of developing long term symptoms by 40%, study finds
Metformin—a cheap, safe, and widely available diabetes drug—could reduce the incidence of long covid if given during the acute phase of covid-19, a new study indicates.
A two week course of metformin given within three days of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 led to 40% fewer long covid diagnoses over the following 10 months compared with people who had taken placebo, according to a randomised controlled trial.
Leave a commentResearchers discover that COVID-19 can cause brain cells to fuse
Researchers at The University of Queensland have discovered that SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses can cause brain cells to fuse, initiating malfunctions that lead to chronic neurological symptoms.
Comments closedCould fused neurons explain COVID-19’s ‘brain fog’?
Researchers have demonstrated that a SARS-CoV-2 infection can induce brain cells to fuse together, with severe impacts on the functioning of neurons. Neurons may fuse together with other neurons or glia, and larger multicellular syncytia may be formed. The fusion of neurons may be one of the causes of the cognitive issues associated with COVID-19.
Comments closedMore than 70% of US household COVID spread started with a child, study suggests
According to a recent study, over 70% of nearly 850,000 US household COVID-19 transmissions originated with a child. The researchers concluded that children had an important role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and that in-person school also resulted in substantial spread.
Comments closedCAMH study confirms ongoing brain inflammation associated with long COVID
A new Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) study found elevated levels of inflammation in the brains of patients who report persistent symptoms of long COVID.
Using advanced brain scanning with positron emission tomography (PET), the researchers found elevated levels of the protein TSPO, a brain marker of inflammation, in patients with onset of depression within several months after a COVID-19 infection.
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