News & Updates

Vitamin D deficiency is common in modern society, particularly among older people who are homebound. Vitamin D supplements in older people may have a role in preventing serious complications of COVID-19, according to data presented at AIM 2022.

In chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated with pegylated interferon alpha (peg-IFN-α)-based interventions, lower levels of the HB core-related antigen (HBcrAg) and higher levels of the HB surface antibody (HbsAb) are associated with durable functional cure, a recent study has found,

A real-world study during Hong Kong’s Omicron BA.2 wave showed that both molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir effectively lowered the risks of disease progression and all-cause mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients not requiring oxygen supplementation on admission. However, mortality risk reduction was larger with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir vs molnupiravir.

Cancer patients who experience treatment delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions may be vulnerable to psychological distress, reports a recent China study. Effective communication from doctors and other cancer care professionals may help mitigate this effect.

The levels of serum levels of LL-37, an antimicrobial peptide whose expression is stimulated by vitamin D, may help assess the risk of disease progression in COVID-19 patients, reports a recent study.

The presence of autoantibodies neutralizing type 1 interferons (IFN), such as IFN-α2 or IFN-ω, strongly increase the relative risk of death (RRD) and infection fatality rate (IFR) in unvaccinated patients with COVID-19, according to a recent study.

Individuals with a prior COVID-19 infection and who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 appear to have the greatest immunity to the virus, according to the SIREN* study.

Several studies presented at ACOG 2022 have raised the question as to whether postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the mental health outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic.