Staphylococcal enterotoxin, a bacterial toxin implicated in some ARDS cases, can be prevented by treatment with the cannabis compound THC. Findings also suggest a potential role for using cannabinoids to treat ARDS caused by COVID-19.
Males who contract COVID-19 have 2.5 times the death rate of women. Being males is a significant risk factor for worse disease severity, regardless of age. Researchers found a similar trend in data from the 2003 SARS outbreak. The study speculates the reason why males are more prone to negative outcomes of coronavirus is due to levels of ACE2, which is significantly higher in males than females.
The risk of severe complications, including death, from coronavirus, is almost 50% higher in those with diabetes than the general population. Although it is yet to be verified in humans, new findings suggest diabetes may not only be a risk factor for severe COVID-19, but the infection could result in causing new onset of diabetes due to the damage it causes to pancreatic beta cells.
A new clinical trial is underway to test ibudilast, an asthma drug approved in Japan, for the treatment of severe COVID-19. Ibudilast is a MIF inhibitor. MIF is a gene that regulates immune response and is a driver of inflammation which results in the cytokine storm associated with coronavirus.
Study investigates whether overactive immune cells that produce neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are responsible for more severe and lethal cases of coronavirus.
Regular exercise may help prevent or reduce the severity of ARDS for those with coronavirus. A single session of exercise increases the production of a critical antioxidant, called EcSOD, helping to reduce the effects of COVID-19 infection.
A new clinical trial is being established to see if anti-clotting drugs, commonly used for heart attack and stroke patients, can help treat COVID-19 patients who develop ARDS. If successful, the tPA drugs could help alleviate the expected ventilator shortage problem we are likely to experience soon.
Based on data from COVID-19 patients from Wuhan, China, that died as a result of the infection, researchers have identified many symptom commonalities the patients shared.
A small study of patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms in Wuhan found laying face down was better for the lungs.
