Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 continues to have a serious impact on public health worldwide. Most patients develop mild to moderate symptoms and recover without requiring special treatment, but up to 15% develop severe (dyspnea, hypoxia, lung involvement) or critical symptoms (respiratory failure, septic shock, thromboembolism, multiorgan dysfunction). Although vaccination is having a substantial impact on case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths, there remains a need for new effective treatments against COVID-19.
Methods: This short review aims at reporting on current therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2 focussing on new drugs authorized in the European Union, describing the treatment strategies and the clinical recommendations for the management of hospitalized and non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients based on the available guidelines for clinical practice.
Results: New effective drugs, like antiviral medications and monoclonal antibodies, have been developed as therapy against severe and life-threatening disease courses. Specifically, the European Medicines Agency has authorized two antiviral medicines (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, remdesivir), supporting also early use of molnupiravir before marketing authorization, and four monoclonal antibodies (regdanvimab, casirivimab/imdevimab, sotrovimab, tixagevimab/cilgavimab). In addition, three drugs (anakinra, tocilizumab, baricitinib) previously authorized for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis are also available to treat COVID-19.
Conclusions: Recommendations and guidelines for clinical practice should be regularly updated as further evidence becomes available in favour or against specific interventions, to inform all stakeholders involved in the health care of COVID-19 patients both in the community and in the hospital setting, aiming at improving the quality of care and therefore the patient outcome.KEY MESSAGESCOVID-19 has been recognized as a multisystem disorder affecting many body systems; this wide spectrum of clinical patterns made difficult an appropriate choice of treatments able to counteract severe symptoms of the disease and alleviate the burden on the healthcare system.New effective drugs, like antiviral medications and monoclonal antibodies, have been developed and approved by the European Medicines Agency as therapy against severe and life-threatening disease courses.Recommendations and guidelines should be regularly updated as further evidence becomes available in favour or against specific interventions aiming at improving the quality of care and therefore the patient outcome.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2022.2133162 | DOI Listing |
Viruses
November 2024
Department of Virology & Biotechnology, ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai 600031, India.
The biological characteristics of early transmitted/founder (T/F) variants are crucial factors for viral transmission and constitute key determinants for the development of better therapeutics and vaccine strategies. The present study aimed to generate T/F viruses and to characterize their biological properties. For this purpose, we constructed 18 full-length infectious molecular clones (IMCs) of HIV from recently infected infants.
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November 2024
C.U.R.E. (University Center for Liver Disease Research and Treatment), Liver Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces a humoral immune response, producing virus-specific antibodies such as IgM, IgG, and IgA. IgA antibodies are present at mucosal sites, protecting against respiratory and other mucosal infections, including SARS-CoV-2, by neutralizing viruses or impeding attachment to epithelial cells. Since SARS-CoV-2 spreads through the nasopharynx, the specific IgAs of SARS-CoV-2 are produced quickly after infection, effectively contributing to virus neutralization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA.
Plague, caused by , poses a public health threat not only due to sporadic outbreaks across the globe but also due to its potential as a biothreat agent. Ironically, among the seven deadliest pandemics in global history, three were caused by . Pneumonic plague, the more contagious and severe form of the disease, is difficult to contain, requiring either prophylactic antibiotic treatment or vaccination.
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November 2024
Pediatric Clinic, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of respiratory infections, particularly affecting young infants, older adults, and individuals with comorbidities. : This document, developed as a consensus by an international group of experts affiliated with the World Association of Infectious Diseases and Immunological Disorders (WAidid), focuses on recent advancements in RSV prevention, highlighting the introduction of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and vaccines. : Historically, RSV treatment options were limited to supportive care and the monoclonal antibody palivizumab, which required multiple doses.
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November 2024
Department of Biosciences and Bioinformatics, School of Science, Suzhou Municipal Key Lab in Biomedical Sciences and Translational Immunology, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China.
The discovery of immune checkpoints (ICs) has pushed cancer treatment into the next era. As an emerging immune checkpoint, the TIGIT/CD155 axis inhibits the cytotoxicity of T and NK cells through multiple pathways. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting TIGIT are hopefully expected to address the issue of unresponsiveness to anti-PD-(L)1 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) by combination therapy.
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