ABSTRACT
Background The COVID-19 outbreak has infected people all over the world where many clinics are being constructed to diagnose and treat lingering symptoms or long COVID. Neurological and long-term cognitive consequences are very worrisome. Many of COVID-19’s neurological symptoms are likely the result of the body’s extensive immunological response to infection rather than the virus attacking the brain or nervous system directly. At the same time, the extent and type of COVID-19’s cognitive consequences are unknown. The goal of this study was to assess the cognitive functions of healthcare workers 2 weeks to 3 months after COVID-19 infection. Ninety-two healthcare workers participated in the study;32 were post-COVID-19 cases, and 60 were healthy people (the comparison group). The cognitive functions of the participants were assessed using the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE-III) test, which evaluated attention, memory, language, and visuospatial skills, as well as the Arabic version of the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety GAD-7 and Depression Assessments PHQ-9. Results The study revealed that there was a highly significant direct correlation between post-infection with COVID-19 and scores of both anxiety and depression and an inverse correlation in the case of attention and memory. On the other hand, there is no statistical effect of post-COVID-19 on verbal fluency, language scores, and visio-spatial abilities. Using multiple linear regression, there was a powerful significant decrease effect of post-COVID-19 on memory scores controlling both anxiety and depression degrees (Beta = − 0.745, P < 0.001). Also, there was a strong negative correlation post-COVID-19 on attention scores controlling both anxiety and depression degrees (Beta = − 0.745, P < 0.001). Conclusions The study showed a strong negative effect of post-COVID-19 on the attention and memory of patients. Furthermore, both anxiety and depression scores increased significantly among the post-COVID-19 patients.
ABSTRACT
The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made us appreciate how important it is to quickly develop treatments and save lives. The race to develop a vaccine for this novel coronavirus began as soon as the pandemic emerged. Time was the only limiting factor. From the first vaccine developed in 1796 against smallpox to the latest COVID-19 vaccine, there have been several vaccines that have reduced the burden of disease, with the associated mortality and morbidity. Over the years we have seen many new advancements in organism isolation, cell culture, whole-genome sequencing, and recombinant nuclear techniques. These techniques have greatly facilitated the development of vaccines. Each vaccine has its own development story and there is much wisdom to be gained from learning about breakthroughs in vaccine development.
ABSTRACT
Lymphopenia is considered one of the most characteristic clinical features of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infects host cells via the interaction of its spike protein with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) receptor. Since T lymphocytes display a very low expression level of hACE2, a novel receptor might be involved in the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into T cells. The transmembrane glycoprotein CD147 is highly expressed by activated T lymphocytes, and was recently proposed as a probable route for SARS-CoV-2 invasion. To understand the molecular basis of the potential interaction of SARS-CoV-2 to CD147, we have investigated the binding of the viral spike protein to this receptor in-silico. The results showed that this binding is dominated by electrostatic interactions involving residues Arg403, Asn481, and the backbone of Gly502. The overall binding arrangement shows the CD147 C-terminal domain interacting with the spike external subdomain in the grove between the short antiparallel ß strands, ß1' and ß2', and the small helix α1'. This proposed interaction was further confirmed using MD simulation and binding free energy calculation. These data contribute to a better understanding of the mechanism of infection of SARS-CoV-2 to T lymphocytes and could provide valuable insights for the rational design of adjuvant treatment for COVID-19. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.