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Besides aspergillosis, the disease caused by fungi of the genus Aspergillus, co-infections concurrently with COVID-19 are caused by two other groups. Fungi of the order Mucorales are responsible for mucormycosis, which occurs mainly in India and Pakistan, while yeasts of the genus Candida cause candidiasis and are present practically the world over. “Patients with this co-infection are twice as likely to die as patients infected only by SARS-CoV-2,” Martin Hoenigl, first author [...]

“The human protein known as PCNA [proliferating cell nuclear antigen] interacts with the SARS-CoV-2 protein M [matrix], one of the molecules that make up the virus’s membrane and give it shape. The discovery itself shows one of the ways the pathogen manipulates cell function for its life cycle to proceed,” said Fernando Moreira Simabuco, a professor at UNICAMP’s School of Applied Sciences (FCA) in Limeira and principal investigator for the study, which was supported by [...]

COPD patients were found to exhibit a number of changes linked to immunosenescence, especially a reduction in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, which are key elements of the immune system. The study involved 92 individuals divided into four groups: COPD patients (21), smokers without evidence of lung disease (22), healthy older subjects (29), and young adults (20). After analyzing blood samples from all four groups to detect seven markers associated with late differentiation, senescence, and exhaustion [...]

Several neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia have been linked to mutations in Transcription Factor 4 (TCF4), an essential gene in brain development. Transcription factors regulate when other genes are turned on or off, so their presence, or lack thereof, can have a domino effect in the developing embryo. Still, little is known about what happens to the human brain when TCF4 is mutated. To explore this question, researchers [...]

It is considered a pre-clinical transition stage toward incapacity, appearing before difficulties are experienced with everyday activities such as using public transport, shopping, doing housework, cooking, bathing, getting dressed, and taking meals. Early diagnosis could help prevent older people from becoming unable to perform these day-to-day tasks. A study was conducted at the Federal University of So Carlos (UFSCar) in Brazil to find the feasible signs that indicate a functional [...]

“Research has shown that Parkinson’s is often diagnosed late and that it may originate much earlier in the enteric nervous system [which controls gastrointestinal motility], before advancing to the brain via autonomic fibers,” Matheus de Castro Fonseca, principal investigator for the study, told Agência FAPESP. Fonseca is currently doing postdoctoral research on the subject at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the United States. Recent publications [...]

Mitochondria are organelles that generate most of the chemical energy needed by cells. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) contains 16,569 nucleotides subject to mutation. Some of these mutations can lead to the development of mitochondrial diseases. Whereas nuclear DNA (the famous double helix, which encodes most of the genome) is inherited from both parents, mtDNA is inherited solely from the mother. At birth, a female infant’s ovaries already contain all the eggs she will ever have. During [...]

“In light of the data available so far, we believe the existing vaccines are indeed effective against all variants of the virus, all things considered. They may also be effective against any other variants that emerge in future,” said Ricardo Dures-Carvalho, researcher affiliated with the university’s medical school (EPM-UNIFESP) and the last author of the article, and he has received a scholarship from FAPESP. Another study led by Dures-Carvalho described several mutations [...]

Dust mites are microscopic arachnids that live in house dust and feed on dead human skin cells. After 18 months of treatment, pruritus (itchy skin) and lesions diminished, almost disappearing in some cases. Side-effects were rare, mainly mild local reactions that did not last long. The study was supported by FAPESP and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). An article reporting the findings is published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: [...]