New expert statement confirms strong links between our hormones and COVID-19
2021-05-19
(Press-News.org) Press release - ESE statement: COVID-19 and endocrine and metabolic diseases. An updated statement from the European Society of Endocrinology
New expert statement confirms strong links between our hormones and COVID-19
The endocrine system is strongly involved in SARS-Cov-2 infection - so much so that evidence of an "endocrine phenotype" of COVID-19 has emerged, according to a statement by the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) published in the journal Endocrine in April 2021. Leading endocrinology researchers looked into the evidence that has accumulated over the past year since the pandemic emerged, and consistently found evidence for links across a variety of endocrine conditions. This statement constitutes an update of a March 2020 statement that was of the earliest and most read pieces delineating the involvement of the endocrine system in COVID-19.
Dr Manel Puig from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain and first author on the statement said "the evidence is clear. The effect on hormones cannot be ignored in the context of COVID-19". He added "we need to be aware of the endocrine consequences of COVID-19 for patients with a known endocrine condition such as diabetes, obesity or adrenal insufficiency, but also for people without a known condition. Vitamin D insufficiency for example is very common, and the knowledge that this condition has emerged frequently in the hospitalized COVID-19 population and may negatively impact outcomes should not be taken lightly".
Dr Puig, together with Profs Marazuela, Yildiz and Giustina based in Madrid, Ankara and Milano looked at the available evidence with respect to COVID-19 across a number of endocrine conditions and related factors: diabetes, obesity, nutrition, hypocalcemia, vitamin D insufficiency, vertebral fractures, adrenal insufficiency, as well as pituitary/thyroid issues and sex hormones.
Diabetes has emerged as one of the most frequent comorbidities associated with severity and mortality of COVID-19, according to a rapidly increasing amount of published data on the incidence of COVID-19 in patients over the last year. Mortality in type 1 or type 2 diabetes has consistently increased during the year of pandemic - and evidence is emerging that a bidirectional relationship between diabetes and COVID-19 may exist, both in terms of worsening existing conditions and new onset of diabetes.
The researchers identified similar trends for patients with obesity. Obesity increases susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 and the risk for COVID-19 adverse outcomes. They posit that nutritional management is important both for patients with obesity or undernourishment in order to limit their increased susceptibility and severity of infection. Vitamin D, calcium and bone are other areas showing a growing body of evidence that better monitoring and solutions for patients are needed in the context of COVID-19.
With regard to vaccination, the statement concludes that available evidence suggests COVID-19 vaccination should not be handled differently in patients with stable endocrine diseases. However, patients with adrenal insufficiency may need adjusted glucocorticoid treatment to address side effects such as fever. The authors suggest data from the field should be collected in an international database in order to form firm conclusions on this matter. They also present a decalogue for endocrinologists and patients with endocrine and metabolic conditions in the conclusions of the statement.
This knowledge highlights the important role endocrinologists will need to play in future research on COVID-19 and other global health issues.
INFORMATION:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2021-05-19
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- The field of mathematical topology is often described in terms of donuts and pretzels.
To most of us, the two differ in the way they taste or in their compatibility with morning coffee. But to a topologist, the only difference between the two is that one has a single hole and the other has three. There's no way to stretch or contort a donut to make it look like a pretzel -- at least not without ripping it or pasting different parts together, both of which are verboten in topology. The different number of holes make two shapes that are fundamentally, inexorably different.
In recent years, researchers have drawn on mathematical topology to help explain a range of phenomena like phase transitions in matter, aspects of Earth's climate and even how zebrafish ...
2021-05-19
One-quarter to one-third of young, active patients who undergo anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction experience a second ACL injury after they return to sport (RTS). New research indicates that young athletes who feel confident about their knee health at the time of medical clearance for sports participation after ACL surgery have a higher likelihood of meeting all RTS criteria related to physical function but also have a higher likelihood of experiencing a second ACL injury within 2 years after RTS.
The study, which included 159 participants with an average age of 17 years, is published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research.
"These data suggest that as health care providers, we may need to re-evaluate the tools we currently use to determine readiness to return ...
2021-05-19
The rhythmic motions of hair-like cilia move liquids around cells or propel the cells themselves. In nature, cilia flap independently, and mimicking these movements with artificial materials requires complex mechanisms. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have made artificial cilia that move in a wave-like fashion when a rotating magnetic field is applied, making them suitable for versatile, climbing soft robots and microfluidic devices. Watch a video of the artificial cilia here.
Replicating movements found in nature -- for example, the small, whip-like movements of cilia -- could ...
2021-05-19
While the APP protein is well-known for its key role in Alzheimer's disease, its contribution to healthy brain function, by contrast, has remained largely unknown until now. Recently, an international research team, led by molecular biologist Prof. Dr Ulrike Müller from Heidelberg University, gained new insights on the physiological functions of the APP protein family by using a mouse model lacking APP. The absence of APP during brain development was shown to result in the malformation of important brain regions implicated in learning and memory. Consequently, these mice were severely impaired in their learning abilities and exhibited autistic-like ...
2021-05-19
In an article published in the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, experts stress that the COVID-19 pandemic presents the "perfect storm" for family violence, where a set of rare circumstances have combined to aggravate intimate partner violence, domestic abuse, domestic violence, and child abuse.
Factors during the pandemic that have come together to contribute to family violence may include increased stress and trauma, economic hardship, imposed isolation, and decreased access to community and faith-based support.
The authors note that public health officials and mental health professionals need to be aware of the impact of disasters on family violence, and they should strive to identify those at risk and provide ...
2021-05-19
Individuals are often prescribed increasing numbers of medications as they age, and while many of these prescriptions are justifiable, some may be inappropriate. A recent analysis published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology examined the results of all studies investigating associations between potentially inappropriate prescribing--which includes prescribing medications that may not produce benefits relative to harm and not prescribing medications that are recommended--and outcomes of older adults.
Potentially inappropriate prescribing was significantly associated with a range of health-related and system-related outcomes, including functional decline, falls, ...
2021-05-19
By the end of the first year of the pandemic in metropolitan Stockholm, investigators estimate that one-fifth of adults in the region previously had COVID-19. The findings, which are published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, come from analyses of anti-viral antibody responses in healthy blood donors and pregnant women.
For the study, researchers examined blood from 2,600 blood donors and 2,500 pregnant women taken between March 14th 2020 and February 28th 2021. Blood donors and pregnant women had a similar rate of past infection, approaching 19% of the study group by the end of February 2021, shortly ...
2021-05-19
Monash University researchers have engineered new antimicrobial surfaces that can significantly reduce the formation of bacteria on medical instruments, such as urinary catheters, and reduce the risk of patient infection while in hospital.
This world-first study demonstrates the potential for 3D engineered surfaces in preventing the initial formation of microcolonies of Escherichiacoli (E.coli), Klebsiellapneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa - the three most common urinary tract bacterial infections (UTIs) associated with catheters.
The study team, led by Dr Victor Cadarso, from Monash University's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the ...
2021-05-19
SALT LAKE CITY - A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reports findings on Huntsman at Home™, a cancer hospital-at-home model operated by Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U). The study analyzed aspects of Huntsman at Home acute care--meaning a level of care that is generally provided in an inpatient hospital setting.
In the 30 days after study entry, Huntsman at Home participants had 55% fewer hospitalizations, 45% fewer emergency department visits, and shorter hospital stays by one day. They also had 47% lower health care costs during the same 30-day period ...
2021-05-19
A key driver of energy research is the ever-growing demand for energy. Traditional fossil-fuel-based energy sources currently meet these demands and do it well, but they're non-renewable and cause major environmental pollution. In a world with looming climate and resource crises threats, researchers have turned to renewable sources of energy as sustainable alternatives. Among renewables, wind energy, in particular, has gained considerable attention due to its low cost. As Dr. Afef Fekih, Computer Engineer at the University of Louisiana, USA, with a specialization in wind turbine design, notes, "Wind energy has been described as 'the world's fastest-growing renewable energy source', seeing a 30% annual growth on ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] New expert statement confirms strong links between our hormones and COVID-19
