- COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses in the body, confirms new research in Nature. Researchers ran advanced analyses of data from multiple biological layers on 1,154 people hospitalized with COVID-19 before mid-2021 and found significant reactivation of viruses in the herpes and Anelloviridae families. “Nearly half of people … had a virus that they were already carrying wake up,” a co-author told Science. “This happens [even] in people whose immune systems are otherwise normal.” While reactivated viruses have been found in prior studies on Long COVID, the researchers caution that their new results do not prove causation. “Our results raise the possibility that viral reactivation may contribute to the development of severe acute COVID-19 and Long COVID,” the authors concluded.
- A German clinical trial found a combination of the steroid prednisolone and the heart medication losartan did not significantly improve heart function in Long COVID. The randomized, double-blind study, published in Nature Communications, included 279 people with Long COVID who had cardiovascular symptoms, excluding people with pre-existing structural heart disease. Participants took the drug combination, or a placebo, for 16 weeks and completed heart imaging before and after the study. While the combination was found to be “safe and well-tolerated” and some participants reported improved symptoms during the trial, the study did not meet a statistically significant primary endpoint measuring a specific change in how much blood was pumped from the heart.
- The National Institute of Health’s RECOVER program recently announced funding for pathobiology research. Researchers can apply for grants up to $800,000 per year (for two years), and apply to use data and biosamples from RECOVER’s observational studies along with — for the first time — from its clinical trials. “Investigators from higher education institutions, government agencies, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and other eligible institutions are encouraged to apply,” a RECOVER press release stated. Applications are open on a rolling basis and more information can be found at the Research Opportunity Announcement page.
