This article contains:
The Spread of COVID-19 While Exercising Outdoors
Remdesivir Binds to a SARS-CoV-2 Enzyme and Undergoes Clinical Trials
Anti-Malarial Drug Hydroxychloroquine May Not Be a Suitable Treatment for COVID-19
The Spread of COVID-19 While Exercising Outdoors
Written By: Paphapin Pairojtanachai
During the past eight months, researchers in Belgium and the Netherlands have been studying the movement of particles around the active body. Since the novel coronavirus became prevalent, other European scientists began to investigate this topic as well. Using exercise simulations, the experts discovered that when someone is walking, running, or cycling, a vacuum or a slipstream is created. This causes droplets from the respiratory tract to spread much farther than the recommended two meters of social distancing. Because these droplets are very light, they will remain floating in the air for some time before they settle down on the ground. While the droplets may evaporate quickly, the process will take much longer in humid environments.
Bert Blocken, a civil engineering professor at Eindhoven University in the Netherlands, warns, “The droplets that are exhaled by somebody – even if the person coughs or sneezes, but just exhaling is enough.” Therefore, Blocken’s team advises that those who exercise should stay at least 4 to 5 meters away from others while walking, 10 meters while jogging or cycling slowly, and 20 meters while running or cycling swiftly.
Remdesivir Binds to a SARS-CoV-2 Enzyme and Undergoes Clinical Trials
Written By: Paphapin Pairojtanachai
Dr. Zihe Rao of Tsinghua University in Beijing writes in Science that new research shows that the antiviral drug remdesivir could be a potential cure for COVID-19. The drug fits a binding site of an enzyme that is part of the replication and transcription machinery of the virus. This enzyme, called the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, also known as nsp12, catalyzes the synthesis of viral RNA. When remdesivir is bound to this enzyme, it prevents the polymerase from functioning normally.
After using cryo-electron microscopy to look at the structure of nsp12, Dr. Rao and his colleagues noticed that the mechanism in which the drug binds to the enzyme may also be suitable for many other nucleoside antiviral compounds, thus supporting the development of a wide variety of treatments.
That’s some good news – now let’s look at some trials done on remdesivir.
Researchers report encouraging data from two phase 3 clinical trials using remdesivir on COVID-19 patients. One of the trials provided the drug to moderately ill patients for 5-10 days while the other one applied the drug to serious, critical cases for a period of 10 days. Since the trials began, a number of patients are recovering, and although it’s too soon to confirm, there is a possibility that remdesivir can help prevent the use of ventilators.
Dr. Kevin Grimes, an infectious diseases physician and co-leader of the trials, said, "If given early enough, we're hoping that remdesivir interferes with the virus and blocks its ability to replicate in patients' cells. The goal is that it staves off the deadly inflammatory cascade that leads to respiratory failure and the need to be intubated and put on a ventilator.”
Earlier this year, a study in China supplied evidence that the drug could block the replication of the virus in human cells. In addition, a case report in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) informed that the first known COVID-19 patient in the US received remdesivir made by Gilead Sciences and his condition improved within 24 hours. While these news are reassuring to us, there are still multiple ongoing clinical trials that will bring further news about the impact of remdesivir on COVID-19 patients.
Anti-Malarial Drug Hydroxychloroquine May Not Be a Suitable Treatment for COVID-19
Written By: Kandharika Bamrungketudom
Hydroxychloroquine is a drug that is commonly used to treat malaria. However, it is also used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, since it calms down the immune system. Previously, this anti-malarial drug has been tested under laboratory settings, and the results have shown that it can block the coronavirus from invading cells. Tests under laboratory conditions, however, do not guarantee success in the human body.
Because of the laboratory tests, this drug has gained the attention of the president Donald Trump and several other of his supporters. President Trump has promoted the treatment of COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine, with doctors all around the US giving the drug to patients in various stages of the coronavirus infection, but also as a preventative measure to those that do not show symptoms but have been exposed to the virus through their health care setting or through a family member.
However, recent evidence from using hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients are showing that this drug does not cure the COVID-19, but instead, may be the cause of more deaths due to the side effects of the drug. The usage of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients is also depriving the drug stock for other patients with lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.
Researchers in Iran have examined six studies done with the drug hydroxychloroquine and compared the studies with normal treatment (monitoring, fluids, giving oxygen, providing other supportive care). The result has not shown any statistical significance in the time of recovery in those that received treatment from the anti-malarial drug.
Another study by the Veterans Affairs and other academic researchers has shown that the drug may be the cause of more deaths due to its side effects. In this study, 368 male coronavirus patients across the US were monitored. 97 of these men received hydroxychloroquine, 113 of these received hydroxychloroquine in combination with an antibiotic drug called azithromycin, and 158 of these men received standard care (without the drug hydroxychloroquine).
At the conclusion of the study, 27 percent of the men receiving only hydroxychloroquine died and 22 percent of the men receiving combination therapy died, in contrast to 11.4 percent of deaths from those that received standard care. This study, however, has not been peer reviewed or studied under a randomized and placebo controlled environment (which is the standard for testing medicine).
The high death risks may be due to one of the known side effects of hydroxychloroquine, which is the risk of cardiac arrest due to a condition called QT prolongation. A study from the New York University’s Langone Medical Center found that the combined treatment of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin has caused 11 percent of the patients (out of 84 COVID-19 patients) to have QT prolongation for over 500 millisecond (which is on the danger zone of a sudden cardiac arrest).
Lior Jankelson, the lead researcher of the Langone Medical Center, has advised that hydroxychloroquine should not be given as a preventative measure to someone that did not test positive for the coronavirus, because taking the drug comes with high risks.
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