Study: Antibody Levels Predict Covid Vaccine Effectiveness

CIDRAP: SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Levels Predict COVID Vaccine Efficacy, Study Finds
SARS-CoV-2 antibody concentrations predict COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, with higher levels correlating with greater protection, according to an ongoing US phase 3 clinical trial yesterday in Science. A team led by researchers from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle evaluated 30,420 adult recipients of the Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at 99 centers for neutralizing and binding antibodies as correlates of risk for, and protection against, infection. (11/24)

NPR: Once Rare, Lung Transplants for COVID-19 Patients Are Rising Quickly
About one in 10 lung transplants in the United States now go to COVID-19 patients, according to data from the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS. The trend is raising questions about the ethics of allocating a scarce resource to people who have chosen not to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. (Sheridan, 11/28)

CIDRAP: Emotional Toll Of COVID-19 On Health Workers Is Vast, Varied
Two studies today in JAMA Network Open describe the emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers (HCWs), one showing that US HCWs experienced a range of negative emotions as the pandemic progressed, and the other concluding that mental distress eased 14 months into the pandemic in Italian clinicians. In the US study, a team led by Duke University researchers surveyed 1,344 HCWs in 2020 about their emotional state before the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. They recruited HCWs via email and social media from Apr 24 to May 30 (phase 1) and Oct 24 to Nov 30 (phase 2). (Van Beusekom, 11/24)

In non-covid research news —

The New York Times: A Cure For Type 1 Diabetes? For One Man, It Seems To Have Worked
Brian Shelton’s life was ruled by Type 1 diabetes. When his blood sugar plummeted, he would lose consciousness without warning. He crashed his motorcycle into a wall. He passed out in a customer’s yard while delivering mail. Following that episode, his supervisor told him to retire, after a quarter century in the Postal Service. He was 57. His ex-wife, Cindy Shelton, took him into her home in Elyria, Ohio. “I was afraid to leave him alone all day,” she said. Early this year, she spotted a call for people with Type 1 diabetes to participate in a clinical trial by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The company was testing a treatment developed over decades by a scientist who vowed to find a cure after his baby son and then his teenage daughter got the devastating disease. (Kolata, 11/27)

Fox News: Exercise Impacts Appetite In Unexpected Ways, Study Finds
A new study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise addressed the age-old question: does exercise make us eat more afterwards or decrease our appetite for the next meal? The research studied physically inactive men and women, finding that among those who worked out, when given a mouth-watering buffet lunch afterward, they did not overeat, but they didn’t skip dessert or take smaller portions either, suggesting that exercise during the holidays will likely not help us eat less or lose weight. (Sudhakar, 11/28)

Fox News: Digital Multitasking Can Be Detrimental To A Child’s Mental Health, Study Warns
Children face a deluge of electronic information from traditional television and computers to tablets, smartphones and video games, but prior studies examining the impact of electronic media on children and adults have yield mixed results. The team of researchers from the University of Luxembourg and Université de Genève studied 118 Swiss boys and girls, ranging from age eight to 12, asking them to fill out surveys with questions crafted to examine their electronic media use as well as their attention spans, sleep, grades, and mental health, according to the report. (Sudhakar, 11/28)

Stat: New Research Casts Further Doubt On A Common Procedure Used With IVF
A common in vitro fertilization procedure offered to patients with the promise of increasing their likelihood of successful pregnancy actually does not improve healthy patients’ chances of going home with a baby, according to new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week. The study focuses on preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy, or PGT-A, which screens embryos for chromosomal abnormalities that could keep them from implanting. The diagnostic tool has been controversial for decades, since no rigorous studies have conclusively proven the test improves the odds of having a baby. Studies as far back as 2007 showed an earlier, more invasive version of the test, called PGS, harmed patients’ chances of having a child. Nonetheless, PGT-A has been sold to prospective parents across the world, bolstering the multibillion-dollar industry of reproductive medicine. (Cueto, 11/26)

The Baltimore Sun: Bank Of Antibodies Against Nasty Viruses That’s Proposed For Maryland Aims To Prevent Next Pandemic 
As the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 5 million lives, a group of researchers is working to get ahead of the next killer pathogen. They aim to identify and establish a bank of warrior antibodies in Maryland, close to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. The antibodies would be derived from a who’s who of viruses most likely to wreak havoc, such as coronaviruses, influenzas, and flaviviruses that cause Zika and debilitating conditions such as encephalitis. (Cohn, 11/29)

The Boston Globe: Budding Technology Should Be Adapted For Eldercare
Most older Americans would prefer to stay in their homes as long as possible. Unfortunately, biology sometimes gets in the way. More than 85 percent of older adults live with at least one chronic illness, and 10 percent live with Alzheimer’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD). The development and progression of such illnesses creates significant barriers to successful aging at home. However, thanks to developments in multiple technical fields, including artificial intelligence and hardware design, it may be possible to equip tomorrow’s older adults to face this challenge more effectively. (Ganesan, Choudhry, and Marlin, 11/29)