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Besides common symptoms such as fever, cough and respiratory distress, some children have an atypical form of COVID-19 known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), characterized by persistent fever and inflammation of several organs, such as the heart and intestines, as well as the lungs to a lesser extent. Reports of MIS-C have been increasingly associated with severe cases and deaths in several countries including Brazil since the onset of the pandemic. Researchers [...]

Can a high dose of vitamin D administered on admission to hospital improve the condition of patients with moderate or severe COVID-19? The answer is no, according to a Brazilian study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The article reports a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the kind of study considered the gold standard to evaluate drug efficacy. It was conducted with FAPESP’s support by researchers at the University of [...]

Adults with periodontitis transmit bacteria that can cause the disease in future to their children, and the bacteria remain in the oral cavity even when the children undergo treatment of various kinds, reinforcing the need for preventive care in the first year of a baby’s life. This is the main conclusion of a study conducted at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. An article on the study is published in Scientific Reports. Periodontitis is an [...]

A test that detects antibodies to the novel coronavirus in 10 minutes and costs only a fifth of the market average has been developed by researchers at the University of São Paulo’s São Carlos Chemistry Institute (IQSC-USP) and Brazilian startup Biolinker, with São Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP’s support. The device works similarly to the rapid tests available now in pharmacies. It analyzes a drop of blood, and two red LEDs light up if it detects the [...]

Brazilian researchers have managed to decipher the structure of a protein found in parasites that cause neglected tropical diseases, paving the way to the development of novel medications. Thanks to the discovery it will be possible to seek more potent molecules capable of destroying the pathogens directly, with fewer adverse side-effects for patients. The study detailed the structural characteristics of the protein deoxyhypusine synthase (DHS), found in Brugia malayi, one of the [...]

There is growing evidence that adipose tissue plays a key role in the aggravation of COVID-19. One of the theories under investigation is that fat cells (adipocytes) act as a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 and increase viral load in obese or overweight individuals. Scientists also suspect that during infection fat cells release into the bloodstream substances that boost the inflammatory reaction triggered by the virus in the organism. These hypotheses are being investigated by researchers at the [...]

Genetic factors that reduce the placenta’s capacity to protect the fetus from the zika virus are described by Brazilian researchers in an article published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. According to the authors, the findings help explain why only some babies whose mothers are infected by zika virus during pregnancy are born with some kind of anomaly. Since the 2015 epidemic at least 3,500 babies have suffered from zika congenital syndrome, which includes microcephaly, brain [...]