Coronavirus News Explained

COVID-19 and Changes in Brain Structure      Already, there has been strong evidence that COVID-19 infection can affect the brain as found by previous studies (See COVID-19 Affects the Brain ) and instances of neurological cognitive deficits demonstrated by COVID-19 patients over time. Over 80% of these neurological cases, however, occur in patients with severe cases of COVID-19 and much less is known about the neurological impact of COVID-19 infection in milder cases. A recent study, published on March 7, 2022 in the journal Nature , investigated brain changes in United Kingdom patients with mild and severe cases of COVID-19. About the Study      The study was conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Oxford aiming to answer the question of whether COVID-19 infection is associated with changes in brain structure. A total of 785 participants (data taken from UK Biobank) aged 51-81 participated in the study. All participants underwent two brain scans roughly three years

 Long COVID Symptoms in Adolescents          Long COVID is defined by the World Health Organization as symptoms following COVID-19 infection that last for at least 2 months that cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis. These symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction, and generally have an impact on everyday function and may fluctuate or relapse over time.  Long-term symptoms after a viral-infection are common among children and adolescents; therefore, long COVID among children and adolescents would not be surprising. However, while there have been several studies on the symptoms and effects of long COVID among adults, few studies have investigated long COVID in children and adolescents. Many adolescents have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and a recent study aiming to address the lack of long COVID studies among adolescents investigated the health and symptoms of long COVID in adolescents. This study was recently published in The Lancet on Feb

 Rapid Diagnostic Testing for COVID-19     Since the start of the pandemic, clinical laboratories have performed 3 billion molecular diagnostic tests for COVID-19 globally. The United States has performed 600 million of these tests, which is more than any other country. Especially with the wave of highly transmissible Omicron cases, the need for rapid COVID-19 testing has gone up. In response to the drastic increase of Omicron cases, the Biden Administration   announced a plan to purchase 1 billion at-home rapid COVID-19 tests to distribute to Americans for free. 500 million of these tests were available for order on January 19th, 2022. But how accurate are the rapid tests? How do they work? When is the best time to get tested? A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on January 20th, 2022, reviews the implications of getting rapid tested and presents strategies for testing using real-world evidence. What are Rapid Diagnostic Tests?     Rapid Diagnostic Tests, or RDTs,

 Child and Adolescent Mental Health During the Pandemic           After almost 2 years of living in a pandemic state, many people can attest to not only the physical, but also the mental toll of COVID-19. A previous post on this blog highlighted results from a study that attributed increased risk of psychiatric illnesses to COVID-19 infection. However, it's clear that you don't just need to be infected with COVID-19 to experience the adverse psychological effects of the pandemic; for children and adolescents, just living with the pandemic and its disruptions have lead to soaring rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide. The psychiatric effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are just as critical as the physical effects of COVID-19 infection, especially for children and adolescents, who have experienced enormous disruptions this past year including lockdown, online schooling, and possibly familial instability. In fact, the mental effects of the pandemic have been so great that in Oct