NIH article says Full-dose Blood Thinners decreased need for Life Support and improved Outcome in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

National Institutes of Health article says Full-dose Blood Thinners decreased need for Life Support and improved Outcome in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients | site |



Information contained in National Institutes of Health [NIH] press release dated: January 22 2021) In large clinical trial conducted worldwide, full dose anti-coagulation (blood thinner) treatments given to moderately ill patients hospitalized for COVID-19 reduced the requirement of vital organ support—such as the need for ventilation. A trend in possible reduction of mortality was also observed and is being further studied. With large numbers of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization, these outcomes could also help reduce the overload on intensive care units around the world. Early in the pandemic, physicians around the world observed increased rates of blood clots and inflammation among COVID-19 patients which affected multiple organs and led to complications such as lung failure, h...

National Institutes of Health says Large Clinical Trial will Test Combination Monoclonal Antibody Therapy for mild/moderate COVID-19 | site |



(Information contained in National Institutes of Health [NIH] press release: January 5, 2021)

A Phase 2/3 clinical trial has begun to evaluate a combination investigational monoclonal antibody therapy for its safety and efficacy in people who have mild or moderate COVID-19. The two experimental antibodies, BRII-196 and BRII-198, target SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The trial, known as ACTIV-2, is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

NIH’s Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) program is a public-private partnership to develop a coordinated research strategy for speeding development of the most promising treatments and vaccine candidates. ACTIV-2 is a master protocol...

National Institutes of Health says Study links Metabolic Syndrome to higher Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with Psoriasis | site |


(Information contained in National Institutes of Health [NIH] press release: December 28, 2020)

Psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease, has long been known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, which includes heart attack and stroke. Now, researchers have identified a key culprit: the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetSyn), a condition that includes obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension, and is highly prevalent among psoriasis patients.

The findings, which could lead to new ways to help prevent cardiovascular disease among people with psoriasis, appear online today in the Journal of the American Association of Dermatology (JAAD). The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. “Metabolic syndrome, s...

National Institutes of Health to support Radical Approaches to Nationwide COVID-19 Testing and Surveillance | site |



NIH says RADx-rad program will fund non-traditional and repurposed technologies to combat the current pandemic and address future viral disease outbreaks.


(Information contained in National Institutes of Health [NIH] press release: December 21, 2020

The National Institutes of Health has awarded over $107 million to support new, non-traditional approaches and reimagined uses of existing tools to address gaps in COVID-19 testing and surveillance. The program also will develop platforms that can be deployed in future outbreaks of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. A part of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative, the awards from the RADx Radical (RADx-rad) program will support 49 research projects and grant supplements at 43 institutions across the United States. It will focus on non-traditional...

National Institutes of Health publishes Statement on the FDA Emergency Use Authorization of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine| site |


(The following is information contained in a National Institutes of Health [NIH] press release dated: December 18, 2020)

Statement from NIH and BARDA on the FDA Emergency Use Authorization of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Moderna, Inc., a biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for its COVID-19 vaccine, which was co-developed with scientists at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). This innovative and monumental partnership has enabled NIH and Moderna to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine within the span of a year that will be manufactured and distributed across the U.S. The vaccine, called mRNA-1273, is a messenger...

National Institutes of Health says Investigational COVID-19 Therapeutics to be Evaluated in large Clinical Trials | site |


NIH trial enrolling people hospitalized with COVID-19


(Information contained in National Institutes of Health [NIH] press release: December 17, 2020) Two randomized, controlled Phase 3 clinical trials have begun evaluating investigational monoclonal antibodies for their safety and efficacy in treating people hospitalized with moderate COVID-19. The trials are part of the ACTIV-3 master protocol, which has an adaptive design allowing investigators to add new sub-studies of additional investigational agents. ACTIV-3 is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. One sub-study is evaluating VIR-7831, a monoclonal antibody developed through a partnership between GlaxoSmithKline plc (Brentford, United Kingdom) and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (San Francisco). T...

National Institutes of Health Observational Study of Coronavirus Infection and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Begins | site |



(Information contained in National Institutes of Health [NIH] press release: December 16, 2020) An observational study has launched to evaluate the short- and long-term health outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), and to characterize the immunologic pathways associated with different disease presentations and outcomes. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. The study, called the Pediatric Research Immune Network on SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C (PRISM), will enroll at least 250 children and young adults ages 20 years or younger from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds at approximately 20 sites nationwide. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is sponsoring and funding the study. ...

National Institutes of Health article says Study suggests that some Postmenopausal Women with Common Breast Cancer may Forgo Chemotherapy | site |




(Information contained in National Institutes of Health [NIH] press release: December 9, 2020)

Postmenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer that has spread to a limited number of lymph nodes, and whose recurrence risk is relatively low, do not benefit from chemotherapy when it is added to hormone therapy, according to initial results from a clinical trial presented at the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. These findings may save tens of thousands of postmenopausal women each year the time, money, and harmful side effects that come with chemotherapy infusions. This is the first evidence in a randomized phase III trial that postmenopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that...

National Institutes of Health Researchers link Cases of ALS and FTD to a Mutation associated with Huntington’s Disease | site |




NIH says previously unknown genetic connection could be a target for gene therapy.



(Information contained in National Institutes of Health [NIH] press release: December 4, 2020) A study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health has made a surprising connection between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), two disorders of the nervous system, and the genetic mutation normally understood to cause Huntington’s disease. This large, international project, which included a collaboration between the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), opens a potentially new avenue for diagnosing and treating some individuals with FTD or ALS. Several neurological disorders have been linked to “repeat expan...

National Institutes of Health expands Research to Improve COVID-19 Testing among Underserved and Vulnerable Populations | site |



NIH says research is designed to rapidly implement testing strategies in populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19.


(Information contained in National Institutes of Health [NIH] press release: November 20, 2020)

The National Institutes of Health has awarded nearly $45 million to expand the research network of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program, adding 20 institutions and seven states and territories. RADx-UP aims to enable and enhance COVID-19 testing of populations disproportionately affected by the disease, including African Americans, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Latinos/Latinas, Native Hawaiians, older adults, pregnant women and those who are homeless or incarcerated. This second round of awards brings the total investment in the RADx-UP...

Envision color: Activity Patterns in the Brain are Specific to the Color You See | site |


NIH research findings reveal new aspects of visual processing.


(November 16, 2020) - - Today the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the following information: Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have decoded brain maps of human color perception. The findings, published today in Current Biology, open a window into how color processing is organized in the brain, and how the brain recognizes and groups colors in the environment. The study may have implications for the development of machine-brain interfaces for visual prosthetics. NEI is part of the National Institutes of Health. “This is one of the first studies to determine what color a person is seeing based on direct measurements of brain activity,” said Bevil Conway, Ph.D., chief of NEI’s Unit on Sensation, Cognition and Action, who led the study. “The approach lets us get at...

National Institutes of Health says Cardiac Arrest Treatment that uses Life Support Machine boosts Survival | site |


(November 13, 2020) - - Today the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the following information:

Using a life support machine to replicate the functions of the heart and lungs significantly improved the survival of people who suffered from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to a new study published today in The Lancet . The treatment program involving the life support machine called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) proved so much more effective than the standard treatment for this usually fatal condition that the trial was stopped early after enrolling just 30 of the expected 165 patients. The study, known as the Advanced Reperfusion Strategies for Refractory Cardiac Arrest (ARREST) trial, was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. It found th...

National Institutes of Health says Treatments for People with early COVID-19 Infection is an urgent Research Focus | site |


Effective, early interventions would benefit individual patients and healthcare system.


(November 11, 2020) - - Today the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the following information:

COVID-19 treatments for people with early infection are needed urgently, according to a JAMA Viewpoint article by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and colleagues. Treating people early in the course of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes ...

National Institutes of Health Scientists discover Key Pathway in Lysosomes that Coronaviruses use to Exit Cells | site |



Targeting cells’ ‘trash compactor’ could lead to new antiviral strategy to fight COVID-19.


(October 28, 2020) - - Today, October 28, 2020, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the following information:

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered a biological pathway that the novel coronavirus appears to use to hijack and exit cells as it spreads through the body. A better understanding of this important pathway may provide vital insight in stopping the transmission of the virus—SARS-CoV-2—which causes COVID-19 disease.

In cell studies, the researchers showed for the first time that the coronavirus can exit infected cells through the lysosome, an organelle known as the cells’ ...

National Institutes of Health begins Large Clinical Trial to Test Immune Modulators for Treatment of COVID-19 | site |





(October 16, 2020) - - Today, October 16, 2020, The National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the following information:

The National Institutes of Health has launched an adaptive Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of three immune modulator drugs in hospitalized adults with COVID-19. Some COVID-19 patients experience an immune response in which the immune system unleashes excessive

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (green) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), isolated from a patient sample. Graphic courtesy NIAID

amounts of proteins that trigger inflammation — called a “cytokine storm” — that can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome,...