Article Summary
June 16, 2020
Psychological Aspects of Employment Instability during the COVID-19 Pandemic
In a sample of 293 Israeli adults, Mimoun et al. found that people placed on furlough (e.g. unpaid leave of absence) reported higher levels of distress than those who were unemployed prior to the pandemic. These findings highlight the psychological impacts that accompany employment instability associated with COVID-19 lockdown policies. Mimoun et al. (June 15, 2020). Psychological Aspects…
Flattening the Emotional Distress Curve: A Behavioral Health Pandemic Response Strategy for COVID-19
Kaslow et al. propose a 6-phase framework for managing and responding to the behavioral health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: preplanning, response readiness, response mobilization, intervention, continuation, and amelioration. The authors describe the Caring Communities initiative as an exemplar of action steps that behavioral health professionals and organizations can take to improve behavioral health care and reduce…
Potential Novel Role of COVID-19 in Alzheimer’s Disease and Preventative Mitigation Strategies
Increased susceptibility of elderly individuals and excessive inflammation associated with COVID-19 disease may accelerate the progression of brain inflammatory neurodegeneration, which plays a central role in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. Naughton et al. discuss the potential interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and Alzheimer’s disease. Naughton et al. (June 12, 2020). Potential Novel Role of COVID-19 in Alzheimer’s Disease…
Age Related Morbidity and Mortality among Patients with COVID-19
Kang and Jung provide a narrative review of global epidemiological data on age-associated SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity, morbidity, and mortality, with a focus on SARS-CoV-2 in children and the elderly. They review theories for the higher mortality observed in elderly people with COVID-19 related to immune function and prevalence of comorbidities. Kang and Jung. (June 12, 2020). Age Related Morbidity and Mortality among Patients…
Airways Expression of SARS-CoV-2 Receptor, ACE2, and TMPRSS2 Is Lower in Children Than Adults and Increases with Smoking and COPD
Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) are the two main cell entry proteins for SARS-CoV-2. Saheb Sharif-Askari et al. found that children have lower expression of the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 receptors in the lung airway. They also found that lung airway expression of both ACE2 and TMPRSS2 was higher in smokers…
Guillain Barre Syndrome in COVID-19: A Scoping Review
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Ahmad et al. identified 24 published cases of COVID-19 associated Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a post-infectious neurological syndrome. The majority of cases were male (18/24) and patients ranged in age from 23-84 years. Prognosis for COVID-19 associated GBS was generally good, with only one documented death. Ahmad and Rathore. (June 16, 2020). Guillain Barre Syndrome in COVID-19: A Scoping Review….
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2-Specific Antibody Responses in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients
Okba et al. validated two ELISA serologic assays for detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Among 3 PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2-cases with serial sample collection, they found that most seroconverted within 2 weeks of disease onset. They found that commercial spike protein subunit 1 IgG or IgA ELISAs had low specificity and sensitivity varied between the 2 assays (the IgA ELISA showed higher sensitivity). These results…
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection among Returnees to Japan from Wuhan, China, 2020
In January 2020, 566 Japanese nationals were repatriated from Wuhan, China and were monitored for 14 days following their return. Universal RT-PCR testing identified 12 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection over this period. Entry screening only detected 7/12 cases, 2 of whom were symptomatic and 5 of whom were asymptomatic. Subsequent testing identified 5 additional cases among individuals…
Coronavirus breakthrough: dexamethasone is first drug shown to save lives
Researchers leading the RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 thERapY) trial at Oxford University released a statement today distributed widely by media outlets indicating that their trial found that the steroid dexamethasone reduced deaths in ventilated patients (RR=0.65; 95% CI: 0.48, 0.88) and in other patients receiving oxygen only (RR=0.80; 95% CI: 0.67, 0.96). The trial has not been published, but was featured in a news article by the journal Nature cited…
Identifying Locations with Possible Undetected Imported Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Cases by Using Importation Predictions
Early in the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, most cases were linked to recent travel history from China, suggesting that air travel played a major role in importation of cases. Using data from February 2020, De Salazar et al. found that daily air travel volume was positively correlated with imported cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. They estimated that increasing flight volume by 31…
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