Free Republic

“True Bru” has passed away. He and Walter Williams (RIP) and Thomas Sowell as well as few others have been great “influencers” and kind of historical, economic and moral “mentors” that helped formed my opinions and philosphy throughout young formative years.

You didn’t know me but I knew, respected and revered you. RIP, Big Brother.

COVID-19 causes 'chronic' cognitive deficits equivalent to brain aging 10 years - by Lee Brown, NYPost, 2020 October 27

Coronavirus can significantly impact brain function, causing mental decline equivalent to the brain aging 10 years, according to an alarming new study.

A study of more than 84,000 people in the UK found that the virus left even those deemed recovered with "chronic cognitive consequences" that it compared to dropping 8.5 IQ points.

"People who had recovered, including those no longer reporting symptoms, exhibited significant cognitive deficits," the study published on MedRxiv said.

"The deficits were broad, affecting multiple cognitive domains," the researchers warned in the study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed. .....

..... "The results align with the 'brain fog' reported by many people who, even months after recovery, say they are unable to concentrate on work or focus how they did before," reported the UK paper. .....

It's not just the lungs: How COVID-19 attacks the brain

Yes, this is the article from June that describes two early PRECLINICAL studies of NRP1 facilitating effect - Munich (collaborating with Helsinki) and Bristol (U.K.)

To the best of my knowledge, Regeneron’s “cocktail” REGN-COV2 drug currently in clinical studies is using dual antibody agents which don’t target NRP1 pathway.

I'm sure this extra 'spike' can be made in a lab.

Of course. Anything can be made in a lab. That was not the question.

Everybody loves a big fat piñata, with a lot of green candy inside.

NeilMed and similar treatments are great for temporary sinuses cleaning but it’s not in any way a “prevention” mechanism. It might even help push the virus deeper into cavities if already present, and / or flush and remove natural immune defenses.

ACV is fermented, acetic acid (active ingredient in vinegar) is not shown to be effective against CoV-2... and again, not a prevention.

The most promising, to date, with very little to no side effects....is Aviptadil (already in EAP).

Aviptadil inhaler:

Nonclinical studies demonstrate that VIP is highly concentrated in the lung, where it reduces inflammation.

Study Type : Interventional (Clinical Trial)
Estimated Study Completion Date : March 2022
Estimated Study Start Date : September 2020

One problem is that it only just entered clinical study. Second is that it only (if successful) seems to protect lungs, but CoV-2 attacks many other organs, particularly vascular and nervous systems, so it seems of more limited utility than broad-spectrum defense mechanism.

I assume, any number of research labs could have a plan.

The difficulty would lie in avoiding the nasty side effects, like loss of sense of smell, taste etc.

I guess, I was not clear - what I meant was that it doesn't matter if you breathe through the nose or mouth, for CoV-2 to lodge in your upper respiratory tract mucosa, where NRP1 is abundant.

The upper respiratory tract includes the nose and nasal passages, paranasal sinuses, the pharynx, and the larynx above the vocal cords.

If this is correct, then simply breathing through your mouth and not your nose might be in order.

I am afraid, that's not practical. There is a reason why we can inhale and exhale with either nose and mouth.

FTA:

SARS-CoV-2 infects also the upper respiratory system including the nasal mucosa and consequently spreads rapidly. "This virus is able to leave our body even when we simply breath or talk", Balistreri adds.

Does the presence of this mechanism provide any evidence that COVID-19 was obtained through gain-of-function manipulation? Or is it also present in other bat coronaviruses?

Present in many other viral proteins, so most likely organic.

FTA:

Balistreri reveals that "when the sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 genome became available, at the end of January, something surprised us. Compared to its older relative, the new coronavirus had acquired an 'extra piece' on its surface proteins, which is also found in the spikes of many devastating human viruses, including Ebola, HIV, and highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza, among others.

Balistreri cautiously concludes "it is currently too early to speculate whether blocking directly neuropilin could be a viable therapeutic approach, as this could lead to side effects. This will have to be looked at in future studies. Currently our laboratory is testing the effect of new molecules that we have specifically designed to interrupt the connection between the virus and neuropilin. Preliminary results are very promising and we hope to obtain validations in vivo in the near future."

Entirely different path. If they can modify molecules to avoid side effects, this could be the most promising treatment to date.

Looks like interesting discovery, even if currently difficult to exploit to introduce immunity.

From Experimental Drug Blocks Growth of SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus in Cell Cultures and Organoids - Sci-News, by News Staff, 2020 April 03

A trial drug called APN01 or human recombinant soluble ACE2 (hrsACE2) can significantly block early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infections, according to a paper published in the journal Cell.


In cell cultures analyzed in the study, APN01 inhibited the coronavirus load by a factor of 1,000-5,000. Image credit: Tibor Kulcsar / IMBA

ACE2, a protein on the surface of the cell membrane, is the key receptor for the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2.

In earlier work, Professor Penninger and colleagues identified ACE2 and found that in living organisms, ACE2 is the key receptor for SARS, the viral respiratory illness recognized as a global threat in 2003.

While the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread around the globe, the absence of a clinically proven antiviral therapy or a treatment specifically targeting the critical SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 on a molecular level has meant an empty arsenal for health care providers struggling to treat severe cases of COVID-19.

"Our new study provides very much needed direct evidence that APN01 soon to be tested in clinical trials by the European biotech company Apeiron Biologics, is useful as an antiviral therapy for COVID-19," said Professor Arthur Slutsky, from the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science of St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto.

In cell cultures analyzed in the current study, APN01 inhibited the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus load by a factor of 1,000-5,000. ..... < snip >

..... researchers demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect and duplicate itself in these tissues. ..... severe cases of COVID-19 present with multi-organ failure and evidence of cardiovascular damage. Clinical grade APN01 also reduced the SARS-CoV-2 infection in these engineered human tissues. ..... < snip >

"Now we know that a soluble form of ACE2 that catches the virus away, could be indeed a very rational therapy that specifically targets the gate the virus must take to infect us." ..... < snip >

Apeiron Biologics' APN01 is one of the recombinant form of the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 - rhACE2. Since ACE2 is a gateway for CoV, seems like potentially effective forms of treatment and/or preventative for any form of coronavirus, including future mutations, made in lab or in the wild. Have to watch for potential side-effects, of course - clinical trials are ongoing now.

I doubt current crop of ARBs (sartans) would do any good on ACE2.

The AACs used on CoV-2’s receptors seem to have been effective on previous generations of CoV (NL63, HKU1 etc.) so there is a good chance this is a real deal, and not just against COVID19.

We have a lead compound... Lead as in Pb or as in leads the pack?

The latter. They rapidly prototyped many different compounds of different length, starting with only 12 amino, and then tested against 23 amino acids chain, to measure how strongly two molecules bind together. They found longer chains to be stronger bound to ACE2 receptors of CoV-2.

Their benchtop flow-based peptide synthesis machine can form linkages between amino acids in about 37 seconds, and it takes less than an hour to generate complete peptide molecules containing up to 50 amino acids.

MIT also has been developing an open-source ventilator designs that it hopes could help as the escalating pandemic strains supplies of the machines.

From Can low-cost, open-source ventilator designs help save lives? - by James Temple, 2020 March 24

MIT researchers hope to publish open-source designs for a low-cost respirator that could potentially help Covid-19 patients struggling with critical respiratory problems.

The motorized device automatically compresses widely available bag valve masks, the sort of manual resuscitator used by ambulance crews to assist patients with breathing problems. The designs could arrive as a growing number of engineers, medical students, and hobbyists attempt to build or share specifications for makeshift respirators — of unknown quality and safety — amid rising fears of widespread shortages as the coronavirus epidemic escalates.

The team recently launched a website unveiling the MIT Emergency Ventilator Project, or E-Vent, which now states the device "is being submitted" to the Food and Drug Administration for rapid review under an "Emergency Use Authorization." Last week, MIT Technology Review was informed the team intended to test the devices on pigs in recent days, though it's still unclear what the results were. ..... < snip >

..... It's also not clear if the team has yet fully answered the fundamental question of the project: Is it possible to safely ventilate a Covid-19 patient by automatically actuating a manual resuscitator?

If that answer is yes, the hope is that openly publishing the designs, test results, and related medical information could enable those with the necessary manufacturing capacity and expertise to produce reliable, safe, and affordable respirators. Even so, the site stresses the device should be operated only under the supervision of trained medical professionals and is not a replacement for an FDA-approved intensive care unit ventilator "in terms of functionality, flexibility, and clinical efficacy." ..... < snip >

..... Researchers at the University of Minnesota are developing a similar device, which also relies on automating the pumping of "ambu" bags. They also hope to soon publish open-source designs. ..... < snip >

Most people are familiar with ACE inhibitors used in treating heart conditions, such as hypertension. was identified as a receptor for both SARS-CoV and NL63.

If this is successful, it could mean more than just a treatment, it could mean prevention of COVID-19 and possibly fast development against future novel coronaviruses, along with immunity-boosting approaches such as intake of absorbable forms of zinc, vitamins D3, B-complex, etc.

Study specifics:

Usual care included bed rest, oxygen inhalation, and antiviral or antibiotic drugs as needed or recommended according to the hospital's treatment plan. A placebo was not used.

At admission, the chest CT scans did not differ significantly between the two groups. No patients were pregnant or had serious underlying conditions, including neurological or psychiatric conditions.

The researchers defined their primary endpoint — as a reduction in viral load as defined by a COVID-19 test (PCR).

Here were the main findings:

• One patient developed severe disease. That patient was in the hydroxychloroquine group and stopped receiving it on the fourth day.
• One week after hospitalization, 86.7% of patients in the experimental group and 93.3% of patients in the usual care group tested negative. 
• It took 4 days for half the hydroxychloroquine patients to test negative and 2 days for half the control group to test negative. 
• Patients' temperatures returned to normal at approximately the same rate in both groups. 
• Disease progression in CT images was statistically similar between the groups. 
• At two weeks, all patients in both groups tested negative and showed improvement in their symptoms. 
• Short-term diarrhea and abnormal liver function occurred in 26.7% of the hydroxychloroquine group and 20% of the usual care control group.
• The rate of adverse events (side effects that may or may not be related to the medication) were similar in both groups. 

The study is just the first to directly compare hydroxychloroquine with a control group for treatment of COVID-19. The study is very small. The researchers estimate that a trial would require 784 patients with no drop-outs to determine whether hydroxychloroquine definitively results in better or worse outcomes. 

The authors of this new study caution against carrying out a study where all patients receive the experimental drug and compare them to historical cases because doing so can result in false positive results.

Original optimism in hydroxychloroquine came in part from a French study, which was also small and had other flaws, including being non-randomised. French study also had no simultaneous control group and used historical controls, which makes it a cohort study.

Ah, so you out yourself with your worship of expensive big pharma 'cures'

If you read carefully, you would see that I just recommended "natural" supplements like amino acids, vitamins and minerals over a highly toxic "Big Pharma" drug in short supply used off-label as a "last resort" just to boost immune system Stop assuming the worst about some p0eople and actually read what they say - facts are facts, you ignore them only because of your confirmation bias - you want to believe what you want to believe and ignore or dismiss any facts that don't fit that assumption.