Black patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and SARS-CoV-2 virus had a different COVID-19 disease course and worse outcomes than white MS patients with the virus, data from the clinician-based COViMS registry showed. Black race was associated with increased odds of a composite outcome of mortality or ICU admission (OR 3.7), and increased odds of a composite … Continued
A St. Louis startup has licensed a COVID-19 vaccine developed at Washington University that won’t be one of the first on the market, but could have advantages over other early vaccine contenders. An article in Nature this month described the Washington U. research as one of several “underdog” vaccines that could be important if early candidates … Continued
Doctors at Washington University are investigating whether the commonly used measles, mumps and rubella vaccine could protect people against getting sick with the coronavirus. The large international study is based on the concept of trained immunity — the idea that live vaccines can turbocharge the immune system. “Of course it protects people from measles mumps and … Continued
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), write the directors of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (IDDRC) Network, a nationwide group funded by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The article was written by John Constantino, M.D., director … Continued
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a vaccine that targets the SARS-CoV-2 virus, can be given in one dose via the nose and is effective in preventing infection in mice susceptible to the novel coronavirus. The investigators next plan to test the vaccine in nonhuman primates and humans to … Continued
This episode of Show Me the Science details new research from scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that the immune systems of such patients can′t do enough to protect them from the virus. The researchers are proposing boosting the activity of immune cells to treat some patients with COVID-19.
Two Washington University doctors have been leading a national effort to study convalescent plasma, a centuries-old treatment for infectious diseases, and believe they have submitted enough data to secure federal approval for emergency use against COVID-19. Doctors have been injecting coronavirus patients with plasma since March. But approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could … Continued
An experimental vaccine is effective at preventing pneumonia in mice infected with the COVID-19 virus, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The vaccine, which is made from a mild virus genetically modified to carry a key gene from the COVID-19 virus, is described in the journal Cell Host … Continued
Airborne and potentially deadly, the virus that causes COVID-19 can only be studied safely under high-level biosafety conditions. Scientists handling the infectious virus must wear full-body biohazard suits with pressurized respirators, and work inside laboratories with multiple containment levels and specialized ventilation systems. While necessary to protect laboratory workers, these safety precautions slow down efforts … Continued
As the St. Louis region grapples with reopening businesses and lifting stay-at-home orders, more than 100 students at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been volunteering to help local health departments perform case investigations and contact tracing, which are essential public health strategies to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.