PubMed News 14.5. 2020

PubMed records with recent increases in activity

• Immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and mechanisms of immunopathological changes in COVID-19.Allergy. 2020.
  Allergy. 2020 May 12. doi: 10.1111/all.14364. [Epub ahead of print]

  Immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and mechanisms of immunopathological changes in COVID-19. Azkur AK¹, Akdis M², et al.  Abstract

  As a zoonotic disease that has already spread globally to several million human beings and possibly to domestic and wild animals, eradication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appears practically impossible. There is a pressing need to improve our understanding of the immunology of this disease to contain the pandemic by developing vaccines and medicines for the prevention and treatment of patients.
  
  In this review, we aim to improve our understanding on the immune response and immunopathological changes in patients
  
  linked to detoriating clinical conditions such as,
  

  • cytokine storm,

  • acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), 

  •  autopsy findings and 

  • changes in acute phase reactants and serum biochemistry in COVID-19. 

  
  Similar to many other viral infections, asymptomatic disease is present in a significant but currently unknown fraction of the affected individuals.In the majority of the patients, a one-week, self-limiting viral respiratory disease typically occurs, which ends with the development of neutralizing anti-viral T cell and antibody immunity.
  
  The IgM, IgA and IgG type virus-specific antibodies levels are important measurements to predict population immunity against this disease and whether cross-reactivity with other coronaviruses is taking place.
  
   High viral-load during the first infection and repeated exposure to virus especially in healthcare workers can be an important factor for severity of disease.
  
  It should be noted that many aspects of severe patients are unique to COVID-19 and are rarely observed in other respiratory viral infections, such as severe lymphopenia and eosinopenia, extensive pneumonia and lung tissue damage, a cytokine storm leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiorgan failure.
  
   Lymphopenia causes a defect in antiviral and immune regulatory immunity.
  
   At the same time, a cytokine storm starts with extensive activation of cytokine-secreting cells with innate and adaptive immune mechanisms both of with contribute to a poor prognosis.
  
  Elevated levels of acute phase reactants and lymphopenia are early predictors of high disease severity.
  
   Prevention of development to severe disease, cytokine storm, acute respiratory distress syndrome
  and novel approachs to prevent their development will be main routes for future research areas.
  
   As we learn to live amidst the virus,
   understanding the immunology of the disease can assist in containing the pandemic
  
  and in developing vaccines and medicines to prevent and treat individual patients.
  
  

  This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  PMID:

  32396996

  DOI:

  10.1111/all.14364
  
  

• Epidemiological, clinical, and virological characteristics of 465 hospitalized cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from Zhejiang province in China.Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2020.
• Association of Treatment With Hydroxychloroquine or Azithromycin With In-Hospital Mortality in Patients With COVID-19 in New York State.JAMA. 2020.
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