FDA Approves Roche’s Monoclonal Antibody Covid Treatment

Reuters: U.S. FDA Approves Roche's COVID-19 Antibody
Roche Holding AG said on Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved its monoclonal antibody for treating COVID-19 in hospitalized adult patients. The intravenous anti-inflammatory drug, Actemra, is a monoclonal antibody that reduces inflammation and was approved in 2010 to treat rheumatoid arthritis. It is the first FDA-approved monoclonal antibody to treat COVID-19, Roche said. (12/21)

And researchers may have found a cause for MIS-C —

Becker's Hospital Review: Researchers Find Possible Genetic Cause For MIS-C
A new study suggests there may be an underlying genetic cause for why some children develop a rare but serious inflammatory condition known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, after a COVID-19 infection. More than 9,000 MIS-C cases, including 74 deaths, have been reported to the CDC since the agency started tracking them in May 2020. A study published Dec. 20 in Science identified genetic mutations to the proteins OAS and RNase L that increased the inflammatory response in some immune cells. The mutations were found in five unrelated children with MIS-C. (Carbajal, 12/21)

KXAN: Most Children Hospitalized After Rare Post-COVID Illness Have No Long-Term Complications
Doctors at Dell Children’s Medical Center are sharing key takeaways after being part of an international study analyzing a rare post-COVID illness. ... “I think the great news is that once the kids are past the hospitalization, they seem to have done fantastic. There were a few patients who had the coronary abnormalities that we’re continuing to watch,” explained Dr. Keren Hasbani, pediatric cardiologist at Dell Children’s and Director of Cardiac Magnetic Imaging. (Doost, 12/18)

In other covid research —

The Guardian: Covid: Ongoing Loss Of Smell May Be Caused By Nasal Cell Destruction 
Millions of people who lost their sense of smell after contracting Covid may have an ongoing, abnormal immune response that destroys cells in the nose, researchers say. Doctors analysed nasal tissue from Covid patients and found that those with long-term problems with their sense of smell had inflammation-driving immune cells inside the delicate nasal lining, which were potentially wiping out vital sensory nerve cells. (Sample, 12/21)

The Washington Post: Regular Exercise Protects Against Fatal Covid, A New Study Shows 
Men and women who worked out at least 30 minutes most days were about four times more likely to survive covid-19 than inactive people, according to an eye-opening study of exercise and coronavirus outcomes among almost 200,000 adults in Southern California. The study found that exercise, in almost any amount, reduced people’s risks for a severe coronavirus infection. Even people who worked out for as little as 11 minutes a week — yes, a week — experienced lower risks of hospitalization or death from covid than those who moved about less. (Reynolds, 12/21)

Science: ‘We Made A Mistake.’ Omicron Origin Study Retracted After Widespread Criticism
A paper published earlier this month by Science claiming the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 arose gradually, across a broad area of Africa, before it was detected was retracted today by its authors. In a retraction notice, all 87 researchers involved in the paper acknowledged that crucial genome sequences on which the study based its conclusions were a result of contamination. “We made a mistake and that is bitter,” says senior author Felix Drexler of Charité University Hospital in Berlin. The paper drew criticism almost from the moment it was published, and some scientists say the problem could have been avoided if the study had been posted as a preprint first, allowing independent scientists to comment. “This would have been slaughtered on Twitter within a few days of being on preprints,” says Aris Katzourakis, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Oxford. (Kupferschmidt, 12/20)