From vaccine development to mathematical models, these are the Imperial women battling COVID-19.

From modelling the spread and impact of the pandemic to developing a prototype vaccine, the global COVID-19 research effort draws on the expertise of researchers from a range of different disciplines.

Originally planned to celebrate International Women’s Day earlier this month, here we meet some of the Imperial women tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.






Prof...

The largest study on COVID-19 to date showed that the prevalence of elevated aminotransferases and bilirubin in people faring worst was at least double that of others. Although clinically significant liver dysfunction was not quantified, this and other studies have led some to suggest that this finding might present clinical challenges. Close inspection of the available data supports a higher prevalence of abnormal aminotransferase levels in severe COVID-19 disease, but these studi...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus is spreading rapidly, and scientists are endeavoring to discover drugs for its efficacious treatment in China. Chloroquine phosphate, an old drug for treatment of malaria, is shown to have apparent efficacy and acceptable safety against COVID-19 associated pneumonia in multicenter clinical trials conducted in China. The drug is recommended to be included in the next version of the Guidelines for the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Pne...

In December 2019, an outbreak of unexplained pneumonia in Wuhan was caused by a new coronavirus infection named COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019). Noncontrast chest CT may be considered for early diagnosis of viral disease, although viral nucleic acid detection using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) remains the standard of reference. Chung et al. reported that chest CT may be negative for viral pneumonia of COVID-19 at initial presentation (3/21 patients). Recently, Xi...

Annals of surgery has just released a publication about the experience gained about minimally invasive surgery and the novel coronavirus outbreak.“So all a man could win in the conflict between plague and life was knowledge and memories.” Albert Camus French writer and philosopher in “The Plague” 1947 .
As elective operations are being cancelled, and surgeons are called upon to perform only emergency or carcinological surgery, the precautions to take when operating on patients wh...

The industrializable model has been validated by experts from the Parc Taulí hospital in Sabadell (Spain).

Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), Leitat, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa and the Parc Taulí hospital in Sabadell, in collaboration with several companies, have developed the first mechanical respirator by industrializable 3D printing. That is, with scalable production capacity.

They hope to create 50-100 units a day over the next week. Respirators are, in f...

Via Science, Robert F. Service write: The standard coronavirus test, if available, works well - but can new diagnostics help in this pandemic?


As the United States races to ramp up testing for the pandemic coronavirus using technology based on the tried-and-true polymerase chain reaction (PCR), alternative approaches are beginning to roll out that could make it easier and quicker for people to learn whether they have been infected. Some methods modify the standard PCR test, wh...

New research into data from more than 200 people who received medical care for COVID-19 reveals that almost half of this group experienced digestive symptoms, such as loss of appetite and diarrhea. Click here to read the entire new from Medical News Today. The experts behind this study analyzed data from 204 people who received medical care for COVID-19 between January 18 and February 28, 2020. The patients had an average age of 54.9 years, and of the total, 107 were male and 9...

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding a Phase 1 open-label clinical trial about a new vaccine against COVID-19 with 45 healthy volunteers over 6 weeks. The new vaccine, the mRNA-1273, will be evaluated at a different doses as well as the capability of inducing an immune response.This first phase will recquire participants to receive two doses of the vaccine via intramuscular injection, receivi...

Via Science, Kai Kupferschmidt and Jon Cohen write: WHO launches global megatrial of the four most promising coronavirus treatments.

Excerpt:

A drug combo already used against HIV. A malaria treatment first tested during World War II. A new antiviral whose promise against Ebola fizzled last year.

Could any of these drugs hold the key to saving COVID-19 patients from serious harm or death? On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a large globa...

Information, resources, and opportunities for the MIT Community to rapidly activate and engage in urgent problem-solving on Covid-19/Coronavirus Disease.
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Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took significant action to help increase the availability of ventilators and accessories, as well as other respiratory devices, during the COVID-19 pandemic to support patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing.




“The FDA’s new actions will mean America can make more ventilators during this crisis,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. “Today’s actions are another step by the FDA and HHS...