Increased frequency of central precocious puberty during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at a single center in the Osaka Metropolitan Area of Japan

As environmental factors are known to affect the timing of puberty, self-isolation during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic may affect the incidence of central precocious puberty (CPP). This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of CPP during the COVID-19 pandemic at a single center in the Osaka metropolitan area of Japan. We retrospectively analyzed the annual frequency of CPP occurrence before and after the first declaration of COVID-19 state of emergency in Japan at our hospital. We performed an interrupted time-series analysis to investigate the frequency of patients with CPP at our hospital from 2016 to 2021. There was a significant increase in the frequency of patients with CPP before and after the state of emergency declaration, both overall and among females. However, there was no significant increase in the number of males. There were no significant differences in the clinical, auxological, and endocrinological features between those diagnosed before and after the state of emergency. Overall, the frequency of CPP significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic at a single center in the Osaka metropolitan area of Japan.

Augmented Humoral Response to a Third And Fourth Dose of Mrna Sars-Cov-2 Vaccines in Lung Transplant Recipients

Lung transplant recipients (LTRs) are at the greatest risk for mortality of COVID-19 among recipients of solid organ transplantation. However, LTRs have been shown to have impaired humoral response (0-40%) to the two doses of mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. In this study, we aimed to assess the humoral response to a third and fourth dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in LTRs. This was a prospective observational study of 45 LTRs without a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, who received two or more doses of the BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 vaccines between April and October 2022. Among these, 11, 26 and 8 LTRs received 2, 3 and 4 doses of the vaccine, respectively. The levels of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were tested by quantitative immunochromatographic assay. LTRs with antibody titers of 250 AU/mL or higher were defined as responders, which corresponds to two-fold the LD50 concentration level in vitro. The median age of the LTRs was 50 years (interquartile range [IQR], 34-59), and 77% of the LTRs were female. The median time from transplantation to anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG test was 82 months (IQR, 35-124), and the median time from the last dose to anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG test was 101 days (IGR, 60-158). The maintenance immunosuppression included calcineurin inhibitors (100%), mycophenolate mofetil (95%), and corticosteroids (100%). The humoral responses were detected in 0%, 31%, and 50% of LTRs and the median titers of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG were 0.01 AU/ml (IQR, 0.01-0.01), 0.01 AU/ml (IQR, 0.01-335.25), and 1429.48 AU/mL (IQR, 32.06-8195.91) after the second, third and fourth vaccination, respectively. The response rate and the levels of antibodies significantly increased with the numbers of vaccinations (p = 0.027). No patient had acute rejection or serious adverse events within the study period. Augmented humoral response was achieved in the LTRs after the third and fourth vaccine dose. Repeated vaccination may be beneficial to enhance humoral immunity even in the LTRs. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Heart & Lung Transplantation is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)