Scientists Discover Why Covid Is Worse For Those Who Are Overweight, Obese
Researchers have found that the coronavirus infects both fat cells and certain immune cells within body fat, prompting a damaging defensive response in the body, The New York Times writes. The findings could lead to new covid treatments that target body fat.
The New York Times:
The Coronavirus Attacks Fat Tissue, Scientists Find
From the start of the pandemic, the coronavirus seemed to target people carrying extra pounds. Patients who were overweight or obese were more likely to develop severe Covid-19 and more likely to die. Though these patients often have health conditions like diabetes that compound their risk, scientists have become increasingly convinced that their vulnerability has something to do with obesity itself. Now researchers have found that the coronavirus infects both fat cells and certain immune cells within body fat, prompting a damaging defensive response in the body. (Rabin, 12/8)
In other news —
CIDRAP:
High-Flow Oxygen Cuts Ventilator Use, Speeds COVID Recovery
The use of high-flow oxygen through a nasal cannula significantly reduced the need for invasive mechanical ventilation and sped time to recovery among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, compared with conventional oxygen therapy, according to a multicenter randomized clinical trial published yesterday in JAMA. Researchers in Colombia and Brazil studied the outcomes of 220 patients with severe COVID-19 randomly assigned to either high-flow oxygen or conventional oxygen therapy in emergency and intensive care units in three Colombian hospitals from August 2020 to January 2021. Patients were followed until Feb 10, 2021. (Van Beusekom, 12/8)
The Baltimore Sun:
Rapid COVID-19 Tests Show Better Than Expected Results In Large Baltimore Study
Those rapid COVID-19 tests actually do work pretty well, even if people don’t have symptoms, according to a large new study conducted in Baltimore. Polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests are the gold standard for detecting COVID-19, certain to find the disease caused by the coronavirus. But rapid antigen tests, which people can now buy in a box for about $24 and conduct themselves, are becoming more common for their convenience as supplies begin to increase. (Cohn, 12/8)
The New York Times:
As Covid Deaths Rise, Lingering Grief Gets A New Name
Ms. Garza Tulip, 41, had endured so many losses — two miscarriages, and the virus taking her mother, uncle and great-aunt. It also debilitated her father. “I think the one thing I miss the most is feeling anything,” she said recently of life after the series of tragedies. She had thought the lack of emotion meant she was not grieving, unaware that numbness can be a symptom of grief. When a therapist diagnosed her with prolonged grief disorder, or P.G.D., a newly recognized condition, Ms. Garza Tulip, who lives in New Jersey, was relieved that what she suffered had a name. Recently added to the upcoming revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M., it’s a syndrome in which people feel stuck in an endless cycle of mourning that can last for years or even decades, severely impairing their daily life, relationships and job performance. (MacKeen, 12/8)
