Treatment

COVID-19 Roundup: Lasting T Cell Response, Preexisting Drug

T Cell Immunity

In a recent study, researchers found that mild cases of COVID-19 can lead to robust memory T cell responses which are still detectable months after exposure and even in the absence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies.

Their study involved over 200 patients in Sweden with various levels of disease severity. Overall, they found that among 31 patients who recovered from mild infection, 27 had detectable antibody responses and 30 developed T cell responses. Among 28 exposed family members, 17 had detectable antibody responses, but 26 showed T cell responses.

“Our collective dataset shows that SARS-CoV-2 elicits robust, broad and highly functional memory T cell responses, suggesting that natural exposure or infection may prevent recurrent episodes of severe COVID-19,” they concluded.

Preexisting Drug

Using computer simulations, researchers from the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago have identified a known drug, Ebselen, as a potentially effective treatment for COVID-19.

The drug has anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative- bactericidal, and cell-protective properties, and could work against a key enzyme found within SARS-CoV-2: Mpro. Currently, the drug is being investigated as a potential treatment for stroke, tinnitus, bipolar disorder, and Clostridium difficile, and several studies have already shown its safety for use in humans.

COVID-19 Updates from CDC

As of August 14, 2020, the CDC has received reports of a total of 38,026,858 specimens tested for SARS-CoV-2, of which, 3,522,138 (9.3%) were positive.

Levels of influenza-like illness (ILI) are low, but high for the time of year. Levels of COVID-19-like illness have decreased since the previous week, with nearly all regions showing decreases or stable levels.

Overall, the cumulative COVID-19-associated hospitalization rate is 144.1 per 100,000. Rates are highest among individuals aged 65 years and older (394.2 per 100,000) and 50-64 years (217.0 per 100,000).

Percentages of deaths attributed to pneumonia, influenza, or COVID-19 is 8.1% for week 32, which is lower than the 12.5% seen the week before.

—Michael Potts

References:

  1. Sekine T, Perez-Potti A, Rivera-Ballesteros O, et al. Robust T cell immunity in convalescent individuals with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19. Published online August 14, 2020. Cell. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.08.017
  2. Menendez CA, Bylehn F, Perez-Lemus GR, et al. Molecular characterization of Ebselen binding activity to SARS-CoV-2 main protease. Published online August 14, 2020. Science Adv. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abd0345
  3. COVIDView: a weekly surveillance summary of US COVID-19 Activity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html. Updated August 7, 2020. Accessed August 10, 2020.