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MESO-Rx
Anabolic Steroids
Can touching a barbell in the gym get you sick with the coronavirus?
- Thread starter Michael Scally MD
- Start date
[OA] Pathological and Molecular Examinations of Postmortem Testis Biopsies Reveal SARS-Cov-2 Infection in The Testis and Spermatogenesis Damage in COVID-19 Patients
In late December 2019, the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was identified in Wuhan, China, and the ensuing pandemic has led to more than 50 million infected individuals and more than one million deaths by November 10, 2020 (WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard).
Pathologic investigations of autopsy tissue have focused primarily on the lung, heart, and kidney, whereas morphologic data on testis injury and the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on spermatogenesis are limited.
Although two groups did not detect SARS-CoV-2 in the semen or testes of recovered COVID-19 patients, another group confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in the semen of patients. Therefore, it is currently unknown whether SARS-CoV-2 infection impacts spermatogenesis and male fertility.
In the present study, we evaluated the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on spermatogenesis by examining the pathophysiology and molecular features of testes obtained from five male COVID-19 patients at autopsy.
…
Collectively, our findings provide direct evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can infect the testis and GCs, indicating the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spermatogenesis and male fertility. Nevertheless, further study is essential to reveal the underlying mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection of testicular cells and the correlation of testis infection with the clinical course of COVID-19.
Ma, X., Guan, C., Chen, R. et al. Pathological and molecular examinations of postmortem testis biopsies reveal SARS-CoV-2 infection in the testis and spermatogenesis damage in COVID-19 patients. Cell Mol Immunol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-020-00604-5
In late December 2019, the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was identified in Wuhan, China, and the ensuing pandemic has led to more than 50 million infected individuals and more than one million deaths by November 10, 2020 (WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard).
Pathologic investigations of autopsy tissue have focused primarily on the lung, heart, and kidney, whereas morphologic data on testis injury and the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on spermatogenesis are limited.
Although two groups did not detect SARS-CoV-2 in the semen or testes of recovered COVID-19 patients, another group confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in the semen of patients. Therefore, it is currently unknown whether SARS-CoV-2 infection impacts spermatogenesis and male fertility.
In the present study, we evaluated the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on spermatogenesis by examining the pathophysiology and molecular features of testes obtained from five male COVID-19 patients at autopsy.
…
Collectively, our findings provide direct evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can infect the testis and GCs, indicating the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spermatogenesis and male fertility. Nevertheless, further study is essential to reveal the underlying mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection of testicular cells and the correlation of testis infection with the clinical course of COVID-19.
Ma, X., Guan, C., Chen, R. et al. Pathological and molecular examinations of postmortem testis biopsies reveal SARS-CoV-2 infection in the testis and spermatogenesis damage in COVID-19 patients. Cell Mol Immunol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-020-00604-5
Every Covid-19 Vaccine Question You’ll Ever Have, Answered
https://elemental.medium.com/amp/p/9a0eeb334ded
Exactly 272 days after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan and 81-year-old William Shakespeare in the United Kingdom became the first two people in the world to receive a thoroughly tested Covid-19 vaccine. (Yes, China and Russia began vaccinating people much earlier, but it’s not clear how well-tested those vaccines are.) In fact, the race for a Covid-19 vaccine began less than two weeks after the world outside China learned of the disease, when the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was published on January 11.
Just a few days after the UK’s vaccinations began, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) allowing use of an mRNA vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech, and continues reviewing the application of another. Four other vaccine candidates are in the U.S. are in phase 3 trials, the final phase before a vaccine is submitted for approval. It’s been a whirlwind, but the next whirlwind is just beginning: actually getting vaccines to the public. The U.S. will need enough doses to vaccinate about 300 million people, estimated Saad Omer, PhD, MBBS, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, which means 600 million doses if all the vaccines ultimately approved require two doses. As countless public health experts have said throughout the pandemic, vaccines don’t save lives — vaccinations do.
“The coming Covid-19 rollout will mark the first-ever attempt to vaccinate the entire population of the United States,” said Amber Cox, PhD, director of Public Health Epidemiology at Maximus Public Health, a private company that partners with local, state, and federal governments to coordinate and deliver health services. “Moreover, this effort is taking place against the backdrop of deep political, social, and economic divisions that have challenged the public’s trust in the government and in the public health community’s response to Covid-19. A wary public will have questions — lots of them.”
So Elemental has set about answering those questions — lots of them. Keep in mind, however, that many of the answers are unknown or aren’t definitive. Uncertainty is an inherent part of scientific inquiry and the scientific process, just as it’s an unavoidable part of finding our way through a pandemic and vaccinating more people at one time than in our nation’s history.
In fact, public health officials are already trying to prepare folks to expect some level of confusion and change.
“As soon as these things start rolling out, we need to anticipate there’s going to be confusion,” said R. Alta Charo, JD, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “It’s going to be incredibly important there’s a single clear message at the federal level about what steps they are taking and what steps come next. At the state level, officials have to be really open and transparent about why some groups go first and another doesn’t, how they’re making these decisions, and then, crucially, that these are not fixed in stone, that these will change as new vaccines come online, with different profiles for risk and benefit for different groups as we see outbreaks here and there. Change doesn’t mean we were wrong, it means we’re adapting on the fly, as the situation changes, which is what a responsible health department would do.”
The biggest challenges to the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, Cox said, are trust in institutions, perceived safety of the vaccine, real safety of the vaccine, and access to the vaccine. Elemental has attempted to address all four of those issues and more in the answers below.
Throughout the answers, we frequently refer to different phases of trials, so if you’re unfamiliar with the differences, it may help to read this explainer first. In short, phase 1 trials enroll a small number of healthy people to test whether a vaccine appears initially safe and induces an immune response. Phase 2 enrolls more people and looks at safety and dosing. Phase 3 involves tens of thousands of people and looks at safety and the vaccine’s effectiveness against the actual disease. For other vaccine-related terms and acronyms you may not know, there’s a glossary at the end.
https://elemental.medium.com/amp/p/9a0eeb334ded
Exactly 272 days after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan and 81-year-old William Shakespeare in the United Kingdom became the first two people in the world to receive a thoroughly tested Covid-19 vaccine. (Yes, China and Russia began vaccinating people much earlier, but it’s not clear how well-tested those vaccines are.) In fact, the race for a Covid-19 vaccine began less than two weeks after the world outside China learned of the disease, when the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was published on January 11.
Just a few days after the UK’s vaccinations began, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) allowing use of an mRNA vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech, and continues reviewing the application of another. Four other vaccine candidates are in the U.S. are in phase 3 trials, the final phase before a vaccine is submitted for approval. It’s been a whirlwind, but the next whirlwind is just beginning: actually getting vaccines to the public. The U.S. will need enough doses to vaccinate about 300 million people, estimated Saad Omer, PhD, MBBS, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, which means 600 million doses if all the vaccines ultimately approved require two doses. As countless public health experts have said throughout the pandemic, vaccines don’t save lives — vaccinations do.
“The coming Covid-19 rollout will mark the first-ever attempt to vaccinate the entire population of the United States,” said Amber Cox, PhD, director of Public Health Epidemiology at Maximus Public Health, a private company that partners with local, state, and federal governments to coordinate and deliver health services. “Moreover, this effort is taking place against the backdrop of deep political, social, and economic divisions that have challenged the public’s trust in the government and in the public health community’s response to Covid-19. A wary public will have questions — lots of them.”
So Elemental has set about answering those questions — lots of them. Keep in mind, however, that many of the answers are unknown or aren’t definitive. Uncertainty is an inherent part of scientific inquiry and the scientific process, just as it’s an unavoidable part of finding our way through a pandemic and vaccinating more people at one time than in our nation’s history.
In fact, public health officials are already trying to prepare folks to expect some level of confusion and change.
“As soon as these things start rolling out, we need to anticipate there’s going to be confusion,” said R. Alta Charo, JD, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “It’s going to be incredibly important there’s a single clear message at the federal level about what steps they are taking and what steps come next. At the state level, officials have to be really open and transparent about why some groups go first and another doesn’t, how they’re making these decisions, and then, crucially, that these are not fixed in stone, that these will change as new vaccines come online, with different profiles for risk and benefit for different groups as we see outbreaks here and there. Change doesn’t mean we were wrong, it means we’re adapting on the fly, as the situation changes, which is what a responsible health department would do.”
The biggest challenges to the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, Cox said, are trust in institutions, perceived safety of the vaccine, real safety of the vaccine, and access to the vaccine. Elemental has attempted to address all four of those issues and more in the answers below.
Throughout the answers, we frequently refer to different phases of trials, so if you’re unfamiliar with the differences, it may help to read this explainer first. In short, phase 1 trials enroll a small number of healthy people to test whether a vaccine appears initially safe and induces an immune response. Phase 2 enrolls more people and looks at safety and dosing. Phase 3 involves tens of thousands of people and looks at safety and the vaccine’s effectiveness against the actual disease. For other vaccine-related terms and acronyms you may not know, there’s a glossary at the end.
[OA] Targeting transcriptional regulation of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2
New therapeutic targets are urgently needed against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Results in this study show that targeting the transcriptional regulation of host entry factors TMPRSS2 and ACE2 is a viable treatment strategy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.
In particular, inhibitors of androgen receptor (AR) or bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) proteins are effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection. AR inhibitors are already approved in the clinic for treatment of prostate cancer and are under investigation in COVID-19 patients; BET inhibitors are also in clinical development for other indications and could be rapidly repurposed for COVID-19.
Qiao Y, Wang X-M, Mannan R, et al. Targeting transcriptional regulation of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2020:202021450. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/12/10/2021450118.abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19, employs two key host proteins to gain entry and replicate within cells, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and the cell surface transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2). TMPRSS2 was first characterized as an androgen-regulated gene in the prostate.
Supporting a role for sex hormones, males relative to females are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in terms of mortality and morbidity. Several studies, including one employing a large epidemiological cohort, suggested that blocking androgen signaling is protective against COVID-19.
Here, we demonstrate that androgens regulate the expression of ACE2, TMPRSS2, and androgen receptor (AR) in subsets of lung epithelial cells. AR levels are markedly elevated in males relative to females greater than 70 y of age.
In males greater than 70 y old, smoking was associated with elevated levels of AR and ACE2 in lung epithelial cells.
Transcriptional repression of the AR enhanceosome with AR or bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) antagonists inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro.
Taken together, these studies support further investigation of transcriptional inhibition of critical host factors in the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.
New therapeutic targets are urgently needed against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Results in this study show that targeting the transcriptional regulation of host entry factors TMPRSS2 and ACE2 is a viable treatment strategy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection.
In particular, inhibitors of androgen receptor (AR) or bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) proteins are effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection. AR inhibitors are already approved in the clinic for treatment of prostate cancer and are under investigation in COVID-19 patients; BET inhibitors are also in clinical development for other indications and could be rapidly repurposed for COVID-19.
Qiao Y, Wang X-M, Mannan R, et al. Targeting transcriptional regulation of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2020:202021450. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/12/10/2021450118.abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19, employs two key host proteins to gain entry and replicate within cells, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and the cell surface transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2). TMPRSS2 was first characterized as an androgen-regulated gene in the prostate.
Supporting a role for sex hormones, males relative to females are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in terms of mortality and morbidity. Several studies, including one employing a large epidemiological cohort, suggested that blocking androgen signaling is protective against COVID-19.
Here, we demonstrate that androgens regulate the expression of ACE2, TMPRSS2, and androgen receptor (AR) in subsets of lung epithelial cells. AR levels are markedly elevated in males relative to females greater than 70 y of age.
In males greater than 70 y old, smoking was associated with elevated levels of AR and ACE2 in lung epithelial cells.
Transcriptional repression of the AR enhanceosome with AR or bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) antagonists inhibited SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro.
Taken together, these studies support further investigation of transcriptional inhibition of critical host factors in the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.
SEOUL — Dr. Lee Ju-hyung has largely avoided restaurants in recent months, but on the few occasions he’s dined out, he’s developed a strange, if sensible, habit: whipping out a small anemometer to check the airflow.
It’s a precaution he has been taking since a June experiment in which he and colleagues re-created the conditions at a restaurant in Jeonju, a city in southwestern South Korea, where diners contracted the coronavirus from an out-of-town visitor. Among them was a high school student who became infected after five minutes of exposure from more than 20 feet away.
The results of the study, for which Lee and other epidemiologists enlisted the help of an engineer who specializes in aerodynamics, were published last week in the Journal of Korean Medical Science. The conclusions raised concerns that the widely accepted standard of six feet of social distance may not be far enough to keep people safe. Evidence of Long-Distance Droplet Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by Direct Air Flow in a Restaurant in Korea
The study — adding to a growing body of evidence on airborne transmission of the virus — highlighted how South Korea’s meticulous and often invasive contact tracing regime has enabled researchers to closely track how the virus moves through populations.
“In this outbreak, the distances between infector and infected persons were ... farther than the generally accepted 2 meter [6.6-foot] droplet transmission range,” the study’s authors wrote. “The guidelines on quarantine and epidemiological investigation must be updated to reflect these factors for control and prevention of COVID-19.”
[OA] Evidence of Long-Distance Droplet Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by Direct Air Flow in a Restaurant
Background - The transmission mode of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is primarily known as droplet transmission. However, a recent argument has emerged about the possibility of airborne transmission. On June 17, there was a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Korea associated with long distance droplet transmission.
Methods - The epidemiological investigation was implemented based on personal interviews and data collection on closed-circuit television images, and cell phone location data. The epidemic investigation support system developed by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency was used for contact tracing. At the restaurant considered the site of exposure, air flow direction and velocity, distances between cases, and movement of visitors were investigated.
Results - A total of 3 cases were identified in this outbreak, and maximum air flow velocity of 1.2 m/s was measured between the infector and infectee in a restaurant equipped with ceiling-type air conditioners. The index case was infected at a 6.5 m away from the infector and 5 minutes exposure without any direct or indirect contact.
Conclusion - Droplet transmission can occur at a distance greater than 2 m if there is direct air flow from an infected person. Therefore, updated guidelines involving prevention, contact tracing, and quarantine for COVID-19 are required for control of this highly contagious disease.
Kwon KS, Park JI, Park YJ, Jung DM, Ryu KW, Lee JH. Evidence of Long-Distance Droplet Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by Direct Air Flow in a Restaurant in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2020 Nov;35(46):e415. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e415
Mayors in some of the region’s biggest cities — including Boston, Brockton, Somerville and Newton — have agreed to roll back their economies to Phase 2, Step 2 of the state’s reopening plan as infection rates rise rapidly in Massachusetts, a move that will close down gyms, museums, and movie theaters.
In the coming days, more cities and towns are expected to join the effort — a three-week pause that will begin in some communities as soon as Wednesday — reflecting how municipal leaders do not think the state is doing enough to control the spread of COVID-19.
“Unfortunately, we are at the point where we need to take stronger action to control COVID-19 in Boston, and urgently, to ensure our health care workers have the capacity to care for everyone in need,” Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement. “We are hopeful that by reducing opportunities for transmission throughout the region, we will reduce the spread of this deadly virus and maintain our ability to keep critical services open.”
Walsh added during an afternoon briefing with reporters that city officials are seeking to “slow the spread now, so we can avoid more severe shutdowns later on.”
According to Walsh’s office, the businesses that’ll be required to close for at least three weeks include indoor fitness centers and health clubs; movie theaters; museums; aquariums; sightseeing and other organized tours; indoor historical spaces and sites; and arcades, among many other spots.
Human_backhoe
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Maybe a little extra androgens isn't such a bad thing right now....
*TRT intensifies to 175*
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In October 2019, Johns Hopkins University and the Economist Intelligence Unit published the Global Epidemic Preparedness Report (Global Health Security Report). Never was a report on an important global topic better timed. And never was it more wrong.
The report argued that the best prepared countries are the following three: the US (in reality, the covid outcome, as of mid-December 2020, was almost 1000 deaths per million), UK (the same), and the Netherlands (almost 600). Vietnam was ranked No. 50 (while its current covid fatalities per million are 0.4), China was ranked 51st (covid fatalities are 3 per million), Japan was ranked 21st (20). Indonesia (deaths: 69 per million) and Italy (almost 1100 deaths per million) were ranked the same; Singapore (5 deaths per million) and Ireland (428 deaths per million) were ranked next to each other. People who were presumably most qualified to figure out how to be best prepared for a pandemic have colossally failed.
Their mistake confirms how unexpected and difficult it is to explain the debacle of Western countries (where I include not only the US and Europe, but also Russia and Latin America) in the handling of the pandemic. There was no shortage of possible explanations produced ever since the failure became obvious: incompetent governments (especially Trump), administrative confusion, “civil liberties”, initial underestimation of the danger, dependence on imports of PPE…The debate will continue for years. To use a military analogy: the covid debacle is like the French debacle in 1940. If one looks at any objective criteria (number of soldiers, quality of equipment, mobilization effort), the French defeat should have never happened. Similarly, if one looks at the objective criteria regarding covid, as the October report indeed did, the death rates in the US, Italy or UK are simply impossible to explain: neither by the number of doctors or nurses per capita, by health expenditure, by the education level of the population, by total income, by quality of hospitals…
The failure is most starkly seen when contrasted with East Asian countries which, whether democratic or authoritarian, have had outcomes that are not moderately but several orders of magnitude superior to those of Western countries. How was this possible? People have argued that it might be due to Asian countries’ prior exposure to epidemics like SARS, or Asian collectivism as opposed to Western individualism.
I would like to propose another deeper cause of the debacle. It is a soft cause. It is a speculation. It cannot be proven empirically. It has never been measured and perhaps it is impossible to measure with any degree of exactness. That explanation is impatience.
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