Apr 3, 2020 03:59 AM
Trial drug can significantly block early stages of COVID-19 in engineered human tissues
https://news.ubc.ca/2020/04/02/ubc-led-s...n-tissues/
INTRO: An international team led by University of British Columbia researcher Dr. Josef Penninger has found a trial drug that effectively blocks the cellular door SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect its hosts. The findings, published today in Cell, hold promise as a treatment capable of stopping early infection of the novel coronavirus that, as of April 2, has affected more than 981,000 people and claimed the lives of 50,000 people worldwide. The study provides new insights into key aspects of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and its interactions on a cellular level, as well as how the virus can infect blood vessels and kidneys... (MORE)
Drugs considered for COVID-19 can raise risk for dangerous abnormal heart rhythms
https://news.ohsu.edu/2020/04/02/drugs-c...rt-rhythms
RELEASE: As some consider treating coronavirus patients with a combination of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, cardiologists are advising caution because both medications can increase the risk for dangerous abnormal heart rhythms.
In guidance published in the American College of Cardiology publication Cardiology Magazine, cardiologists from Oregon Health & Science University and Indiana University recommend clinicians who treat COVID-19 patients with the malaria-antibiotic drug combination also consider monitoring those patients for ventricular arrhythmia, which involves the lower heart chambers beating quickly and irregularly and can lead to cardiac arrest.
There are hundreds of drugs that can increase the risk for cardiac arrest, but using two together in patients who are already at risk or critically ill could increase that risk further, the guidance notes. “While there is yet very little data regarding hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin’s effectiveness as a treatment for COVID-19, some clinicians are considering combining them during this global pandemic,” said the paper’s lead author, Eric Stecker, M.D., M.P.H., an associate professor of medicine (cardiovascular medicine) in the OHSU School of Medicine and OHSU Knight Cardiovascular Institute. “If physicians use their best medical judgment and order this drug combination for coronavirus patients, we want them to be aware of potential adverse side effects.”
Stecker and colleagues recommend clinicians who treat COVID-19 patients with the drug combination also monitor patients for dangerous arrhythmias. However, they acknowledge limited resources could make monitoring a challenge. “Until we have clinical outcome data supporting the benefit or harm of these medications, I would advocate for a cautious approach in using the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin,” Stecker said. “Any medications that increase the risk of cardiac risk require consideration of both risks and benefits, and right now we do not have evidence that benefits outweigh risks for use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine. Until we have more information, patients should be monitored for arrhythmias during any use of these medications, alone or in combination, unless risk of infection for health care workers or limitations in use of personal protective equipment are prohibitive.”
Study suggests marijuana may impair female fertility
https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advoc...-fertility
RELEASE: Female eggs exposed to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, have an impaired ability to produce viable embryos, and are significantly less likely to result in a viable pregnancy, according to an animal study accepted for presentation at ENDO 2020, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting. The abstract will be published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.
Marijuana, or cannabis, is the most commonly used recreational drug by people of reproductive age. The rise in marijuana use has occurred at the same time that THC percentages in the drug have increased. “Currently, patients seeking infertility treatments are advised against cannabis use, but the scientific evidence backing this statement is weak,” said Master student Megan Misner, part of the research laboratory led by Laura Favetta, Ph.D., in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Guelph in Canada. “This makes it difficult for physicians to properly advise patients undergoing in vitro fertilization.”
In the new study, researchers treated cow oocytes, or female eggs, with concentrations of THC equivalent to therapeutic and recreational doses. The oocytes were collected and matured into five groups: untreated, control, low THC, mid THC and high THC.
The eggs’ developmental rates and gene expression were measured. The researchers evaluated the ability of embryos to reach critical stages of development at specific time points. With higher concentrations of THC, they found a significant decrease and delay in the ability of the treated oocytes to reach these checkpoints. “This is a key indicator in determining the quality and developmental potential of the egg,” Misner said.
THC exposure led to a significant decrease in the expression of genes called connexins, which are present at increased levels in higher quality oocytes. Poorer quality oocytes, with lower connexin expression levels, have been shown to lead to a poorer embryo development. “This embryo would be less likely to proceed past the first week of development, and thus lead to infertility,” Misner said.
Preliminary data also showed THC affected the activity of a total of 62 genes in the treatment groups compared with the non-treated groups. “This implies lower quality and lower fertilization capability, therefore lower fertility in the end,” she said.
https://news.ubc.ca/2020/04/02/ubc-led-s...n-tissues/
INTRO: An international team led by University of British Columbia researcher Dr. Josef Penninger has found a trial drug that effectively blocks the cellular door SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect its hosts. The findings, published today in Cell, hold promise as a treatment capable of stopping early infection of the novel coronavirus that, as of April 2, has affected more than 981,000 people and claimed the lives of 50,000 people worldwide. The study provides new insights into key aspects of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and its interactions on a cellular level, as well as how the virus can infect blood vessels and kidneys... (MORE)
Drugs considered for COVID-19 can raise risk for dangerous abnormal heart rhythms
https://news.ohsu.edu/2020/04/02/drugs-c...rt-rhythms
RELEASE: As some consider treating coronavirus patients with a combination of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, cardiologists are advising caution because both medications can increase the risk for dangerous abnormal heart rhythms.
In guidance published in the American College of Cardiology publication Cardiology Magazine, cardiologists from Oregon Health & Science University and Indiana University recommend clinicians who treat COVID-19 patients with the malaria-antibiotic drug combination also consider monitoring those patients for ventricular arrhythmia, which involves the lower heart chambers beating quickly and irregularly and can lead to cardiac arrest.
There are hundreds of drugs that can increase the risk for cardiac arrest, but using two together in patients who are already at risk or critically ill could increase that risk further, the guidance notes. “While there is yet very little data regarding hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin’s effectiveness as a treatment for COVID-19, some clinicians are considering combining them during this global pandemic,” said the paper’s lead author, Eric Stecker, M.D., M.P.H., an associate professor of medicine (cardiovascular medicine) in the OHSU School of Medicine and OHSU Knight Cardiovascular Institute. “If physicians use their best medical judgment and order this drug combination for coronavirus patients, we want them to be aware of potential adverse side effects.”
Stecker and colleagues recommend clinicians who treat COVID-19 patients with the drug combination also monitor patients for dangerous arrhythmias. However, they acknowledge limited resources could make monitoring a challenge. “Until we have clinical outcome data supporting the benefit or harm of these medications, I would advocate for a cautious approach in using the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin,” Stecker said. “Any medications that increase the risk of cardiac risk require consideration of both risks and benefits, and right now we do not have evidence that benefits outweigh risks for use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine. Until we have more information, patients should be monitored for arrhythmias during any use of these medications, alone or in combination, unless risk of infection for health care workers or limitations in use of personal protective equipment are prohibitive.”
Study suggests marijuana may impair female fertility
https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advoc...-fertility
RELEASE: Female eggs exposed to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, have an impaired ability to produce viable embryos, and are significantly less likely to result in a viable pregnancy, according to an animal study accepted for presentation at ENDO 2020, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting. The abstract will be published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.
Marijuana, or cannabis, is the most commonly used recreational drug by people of reproductive age. The rise in marijuana use has occurred at the same time that THC percentages in the drug have increased. “Currently, patients seeking infertility treatments are advised against cannabis use, but the scientific evidence backing this statement is weak,” said Master student Megan Misner, part of the research laboratory led by Laura Favetta, Ph.D., in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Guelph in Canada. “This makes it difficult for physicians to properly advise patients undergoing in vitro fertilization.”
In the new study, researchers treated cow oocytes, or female eggs, with concentrations of THC equivalent to therapeutic and recreational doses. The oocytes were collected and matured into five groups: untreated, control, low THC, mid THC and high THC.
The eggs’ developmental rates and gene expression were measured. The researchers evaluated the ability of embryos to reach critical stages of development at specific time points. With higher concentrations of THC, they found a significant decrease and delay in the ability of the treated oocytes to reach these checkpoints. “This is a key indicator in determining the quality and developmental potential of the egg,” Misner said.
THC exposure led to a significant decrease in the expression of genes called connexins, which are present at increased levels in higher quality oocytes. Poorer quality oocytes, with lower connexin expression levels, have been shown to lead to a poorer embryo development. “This embryo would be less likely to proceed past the first week of development, and thus lead to infertility,” Misner said.
Preliminary data also showed THC affected the activity of a total of 62 genes in the treatment groups compared with the non-treated groups. “This implies lower quality and lower fertilization capability, therefore lower fertility in the end,” she said.