THE following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that have yet to be certified by peer review.
Severe sleep apnea tied to severe COVID-19
The risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is higher in people with obstructive sleep apnea and other breathing problems that cause oxygen levels to drop during sleep, researchers say.
They tracked 5,402 adults with these problems and found that roughly a third of them eventually tested posted for the coronavirus.
While the chance of being infected did not increase with the severity of their problems, people with higher scores on the "apnea-hypopnia index" - a measure of the severity of their sleep-related breathing problems - had higher odds of needing to be hospitalized or dying from COVID-19, Drs. Cinthya Pena Orbea and Reena Mehra of the Cleveland Clinic and colleagues reported on Wednesday in JAMA Network Open.
It is not clear if treatments that improve sleep apnea, such as CPAP machines that push air into patients' airways during sleep, would also reduce the risk of severe COVID-19, said Pene Orbea and Mehra.
Body's coronavirus memory may abort new infections
Healthcare workers who did not test positive for COVID-19, despite heavy exposure to infected patients, had T cells that attacked a part of the virus that lets it make copies of itself, according to a report published Wednesday in Nature.
Researchers who studied the 58 healthcare workers found their T cells responded more strongly to a part of the virus, called the RTC, that is very similar on all human and animal coronaviruses, including all variants of SARS-CoV-2.
They suspect the T cells recognized the RTC because they had "seen" it on other viruses during other infections.
That makes the RTC a potentially good target for vaccines if more research confirms these findings, study leaders Mala Maini and Leo Swadling, both of University College London, said in a joint email to Reuters.
These data were collected during the first wave of the pandemic, they added. "We don't know if this sort of control happens for more infectious variants currently circulating."
Vaccines induce neutralizing antibodies in breast milk
Infants might benefit from COVID-19 antibodies in breast milk regardless of whether mothers acquired the antibodies from being infected with SARS-CoV-2 or from vaccines, according to new findings reported on Wednesday in JAMA Pediatrics.
Researchers studied antibodies in breast milk samples from 47 mothers who had been infected with the virus and 30 healthy mothers who had received the vaccines from Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech.
Antibodies from both groups were able to neutralize active SARS-CoV-2 virus, and while antibodies from infection were evident in milk for longer periods, antibody levels from vaccination "were much more uniform," said study leader Bridget Young of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.
Thus, there is likely benefit to getting vaccinated even after a COVID-19 infection because breast milk would then contain a diverse variety of antibodies, she said.
The researchers did not study the effect of the antibodies on the babies who consumed the milk.
Reuters
Thu Nov 11 2021
The risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is higher in people with obstructive sleep apnea and other breathing problems that cause oxygen levels to drop during sleep, researchers say. - REUTERS
Kerajaan Negeri diharap segera pemakaian Akta Perhutanan Negara
Kementerian Sumber Asli dan Kelestarian Alam berharap semua kerajaan negeri akan menyegerakan pemakaian Akta Perhutanan Negara (Pindaan) 2022 sebagai Enakmen Perhutanan (Pemakaian) di negeri masing-masing.
Dua ahli politik Melaka antara yang pernah disekat ke luar negara
Dua ahli politik Melaka antara 10 individu yang disekat ke luar negara selepas gagal melunaskan tunggakan cukai melibatkan jumlah mencecah puluhan ribu ringgit.
Bar alamat Google Chrome bakal jadi lebih pintar
Ini bermakna, Chrome turut boleh mencadangkan laman web yang tepat, membetulkan ejaan alamat web yang salah ditaip oleh pengguna dan banyak lagi.
Peniaga didenda RM8,000 sengaja daftar kelahiran anak lebih sekali
Seorang peniaga didenda RM8,000 oleh Mahkamah Majistret kerana sengaja mendaftar kelahiran anak sulungnya lebih daripada sekali pada September tahun lepas.
Rizky Febian, Mahalini kahwin 5 Mei ini
Berita majlis perkahwinan anak pelawak Sule itu dengan Mahalini mula menjadi perbualan selepas dia berkongsi animasi latar biru seperti background foto buku nikah.
Siasatan MB Perlis: 'Bersangka baik dengan SPRM' - Zahid
Ahmad Zahid meminta semua pihak bersangka baik dengan SPRM selepas agensi itu merakam percakapan Menteri Besar Perlis, Mohd Shukri Ramli.
Dua bekas anggota polis terlepas hukuman gantung, diganti dengan penjara
Kedua-dua mereka yang dijatuhi hukuman penjara 18 tahun dan tiga bulan, diperintah menjalani hukuman penjara bermula dari penahanan mereka pada 22 Jan 2006.
Sempadan Malaysia-Thailand dibuka seperti biasa - Polis
Sempadan Malaysia-Thailand khususnya di Rantau Panjang dibuka seperti biasa dan tidak ditutup susulan insiden letupan bom serta berbalas tembakan.
AWANI Ringkas: LHDN giat buru pihak culas bayar cukai
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Tunggakan cukai: Dua ahli politik Melaka antara yang disekat ke luar negara
Dua ahli politik di Melaka antara 10 individu yang pernah disekat ke luar negara kerana gagal melunaskan tunggakan cukai melibatkan jumlah puluhan ribu ringgit.
Program Jana Wibawa dilaksana selepas dapat persetujuan Jemaah Menteri - Saksi
Mahkamah Sesyen di sini hari ini diberitahu bahawa cadangan mengenai Jana Wibawa telah dibawa ke mesyuarat untuk pertimbangan sebelum Jemaah Menteri memutuskan supaya program itu diteruskan pada 2020.
Kelaparan akut jejaskan 281.6 juta orang tahun lepas - PBB
Tahap bahaya kelaparan akut menjejaskan 281.6 juta orang tahun lepas, tahun kelima berturut-turut bahawa ketakjaminan makanan semakin memburuk.
Hamilton optimis kedudukan lebih baik di GP China
Lewis Hamilton melihat potensi kedudukan yang lebih baik dalam saingan Grand Prix yang kembali ke China buat pertama kali dalam tempoh lima tahun, hujung minggu ini.
'Selfish!' - Fasha Sandha sedih raya di Perlis tak jadi gara-gara dijangkiti COVID-19
Fasha berkata dia mula melakukan pemeriksaan COVID-19 selepas berasa tidak sihat badan dan mengalami bersin tidak henti sejak Raya pertama.
Kes COVID-19 catat penurunan ketara pada ME 14/2024 - KKM
Jumlah kes COVID-19 menurun 97.1 peratus kepada 493 kes pada Minggu Epidemiologi ke-14 (ME 14/2024) iaitu bagi tempoh 31 Mac hingga 6 April lepas berbanding 17,256 kes pada ME 1/2024.
China jadikan pengalaman pencegahan COVID-19 untuk hadapi pandemik masa depan
China akan menjadikan pengalaman dalam pencegahan dan kawalan COVID-19 untuk membuat persediaan yang lebih proaktif untuk menghadapi pandemik masa depan seperti "Penyakit X".
Negara berdepan ketirisan subsidi diesel serius - Amir Hamzah
Negara kini sedang berdepan isu ketirisan subsidi diesel yang serius dan wujud kemungkinan terdapat pihak yang tidak layak masih menikmati subsidi itu, kata Menteri Kewangan II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah.
Kematian akibat kemalangan jalan raya lebih tinggi daripada COVID-19 - Anthony Loke
PDRM akan mengeluarkan data mengenai kemalangan jalan raya pada setiap hari, bukan setahun sekali seperti diamalkan sebelum ini.
Ismail Sabri ziarah lapan beradik yatim piatu akibat COVID-19
Ismail Sabri tiba kira-kira jam 2 petang di kediaman lapan beradik itu di Taman Adenium, Bukit Beruntung pada Selasa.
Teori konspirasi 'Penyakit X'
Ahli teori konspirasi AS sekali lagi membuat 'keuntungan' selepas PBB memberi amaran tentang wabak lebih berbahaya iaitu 'Penyakit X'.