Journal of internal medicine
-
Adaptive immune responses play critical roles in viral clearance and protection against re-infection, and SARS-CoV-2 is no exception. What is exceptional is the rapid characterization of the immune response to the virus performed by researchers during the first 20 months of the pandemic. This has given us a more detailed understanding of SARS-CoV-2 compared to many viruses that have been with us for a long time. ⋯ The pandemic has engaged scientists and the public alike, and terms such as seroprevalence, neutralizing antibodies, antibody escape and vaccine certificates have become familiar to a broad community. Here, we review key findings concerning B cell and antibody (Ab) responses to SARS-CoV-2, focusing on non-severe cases and anti-spike (S) Ab responses in particular, the latter being central to protective immunity induced by infection or vaccination. The emergence of viral variants that have acquired mutations in S acutely highlights the need for continued characterization of both emerging variants and Ab responses against these during the evolving pathogen-immune system arms race.
-
Individual unhealthy sleep behaviours have been associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality and deaths due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer. The evidence regarding the association of sleep patterns with these risks is limited. ⋯ A healthy sleep pattern was associated with lower risks of all-cause mortality and mortality from CVD and cancer. Our findings highlight the importance of improving overall sleep behaviours in lowering mortality.
-
Comorbidities including ischemic heart disease (IHD) worsen outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infections. High lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] concentrations are a strong risk factor for IHD and possibly for thromboembolic events. We therefore evaluated whether SARS-CoV-2 infections modify the risk of high Lp(a) concentrations for IHD or thromboembolic events during the first 8.5 months follow-up of the pandemic. ⋯ SARS-CoV-2 infections enforce the association between high Lp(a) and IHD but the risk for thromboembolic events is not influenced by Lp(a).
-
The frequency of misattributed paternity in Sweden is low and decreasing: A nationwide cohort study.
The occurrence of misattributed paternity has consequences throughout society with implications ranging from inheritance and royal succession to transplantation. However, its frequency in Sweden is unknown. ⋯ The misattributed paternity rate is similar to the rates in other West European populations. Apart from widespread societal implications, studies on heritability may consider misattributed paternity as a minor source of error.