Virus research
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Meta Analysis
Effect of remdesivir on patients with COVID-19: A network meta-analysis of randomized control trials.
Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were conducted to investigate the effect of remdesivir for patients with COVID-19, but their results were conflicting. Thus, we conducted a network meta-analysis comparing the rate of clinical improvement among patients with COVID-19 who received 5-day course of remdesivir versus 10-day course of remdesivir versus standard care. ⋯ In addition, the rate of clinical improvement was significantly higher in the 5-day remdesivir group compared to the 10-day remdesivir group (OR [95% confidence interval [CI]] =1.37 [1.01-1.85], P =0.041). Our analysis demonstrated that the use of remdesivir for patients with COVID-19 was associated with the significantly higher clinical improvement rate compared with standard care alone.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease, caused by a newly emerged highly pathogenic virus called novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Targeting the main protease (Mpro, 3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is an appealing approach for drug development because this enzyme plays a significant role in the viral replication and transcription. The available crystal structures of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro determined in the presence of different ligands and inhibitor-like compounds provide a platform for the quick development of selective inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. ⋯ Both compounds are structural analogs of known antivirals, having considerable protease inhibitory potential with improved pharmacological properties. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations suggested SARS-CoV-2 Mpro in complex with these compounds is stable during the simulation period with minimal structural changes. This work provides enough evidence for further implementation of the identified compounds in the development of effective therapeutics of COVID-19.
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The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 affects all aspects of human life. Detection platforms that are efficient, rapid, accurate, specific, sensitive, and user friendly are urgently needed to manage and control the spread of SARS-CoV-2. RT-qPCR based methods are the gold standard for SARS-CoV-2 detection. ⋯ Here, we built an efficient, rapid, specific, sensitive, user-friendly SARS-CoV-2 detection module that combines the robust virus amplification of RT-LAMP with the specific detection ability of SARS-CoV-2 by CRISPR-Cas12. Furthermore, we combined the RT-LAMP-CRISPR-Cas12 module with lateral flow cells to enable highly efficient point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 detection. Our iSCAN SARS-CoV-2 detection module, which exhibits the critical features of a robust molecular diagnostic device, should facilitate the effective management and control of COVID-19.
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To investigate the evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics of the current COVID-19 outbreak, a total of 112 genomes of SARS-CoV-2 strains sampled from China and 12 other countries with sampling dates between 24 December 2019 and 9 February 2020 were analyzed. We performed phylogenetic, split network, likelihood-mapping, model comparison, and phylodynamic analyses of the genomes. ⋯ Notably, the very low Re estimates of SARS-CoV-2 during the recent sampling period may be the result of the successful control of the pandemic in China due to extreme societal lockdown efforts. Our results emphasize the importance of using phylodynamic analyses to provide insights into the roles of various interventions to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in China and beyond.
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SARS-CoV-2 is the agent responsible for COVID-19. The infection can be dived into three phases: mild infection, the pulmonary phase and the inflammatory phase. Treatment options for the pulmonary phase include: Hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir. ⋯ Human clinical trials are starting to show some results, in some cases like that of Remdesivir and corticosteroids these are controversial. Coagulopathy is a common complication in severe cases, inflammation and coagulation are intertwined and cross-talking between these two responses is known to happen. A possible amplification of this cross-talking is suggested to be implicated in the severe cases that show both a cytokine storm and coagulopathy.