The use of sabizabulin, a cancer drug, reduced the risk of death by 55 percent in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, a small study published July 6 in the New England Journal of Medicine found.
Researchers administered the drug to 134 patients in the trial. "Overall, I think this is very exciting, although I would welcome larger and independent confirmatory studies," Ilan Schwartz, MD, PhD, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alberta who was not involved in the study, told The New York Times.
Here are 11 more recent studies on COVID-19:
1. People who have had COVID-19 two or more times have more than twice the risk of dying and three times the risk of being hospitalized within six months of their last infection, compared to people who have only been infected once, according to a preliminary study from researchers at Washington University in St. Louis.
2. In 2021, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death for 45- to 54-year-olds, with 16.8 percent of deaths being attributed to the disease, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine on July 5 found. In 2020, COVID-19 was the fourth leading cause of death, following heart disease, cancer and accidents.
3. Temporary loss of smell emerged as a common indicator of COVID-19 early in the pandemic. Research into the cause and treatment of the condition, known as anosmia, is ongoing, though recent studies have brought us one step closer to answers.
4. While many studies have estimated how prevalent long COVID-19 is in adults, fewer have explored the risk among children. Three recent findings include the prevalence of the condition in children and common symptoms.
5. Drug resistance or impaired immunity against the coronavirus are likely not the cause of rebound symptoms some patients experience after taking Pfizer's antiviral Paxlovid, according to a new study from University of California San Diego researchers.
6. Long COVID-19 is often overlooked in older people despite the age group being at a higher risk to develop symptoms, The Washington Post reported June 26.
7. Four weeks after testing positive for COVID-19 and feeling symptoms, women encountered recurring symptoms more often than men, according to a study published June 21 in Current Medical Research and Opinion.
8. A smaller proportion of people infected during the omicron period experienced long COVID-19 symptoms compared to those infected during the time when delta was the dominant strain, according to findings published June 16 in The Lancet.
9. Three researchers across the globe are working to decipher the causes of long COVID-19 and determine the best ways to treat it, Science reported June 16.
10. New research suggests a past COVID-19 infection may be responsible for the severe hepatitis cases reported among children globally in recent months.
11. Babies born to mothers who had COVID-19 during pregnancy were more likely to be diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder by their first birthday compared to those born to mothers who did not have COVID-19, according to preliminary findings published June 9 in JAMA Network Open.