Patients Of Coronavirus

London: Though SARS-CoV-2, virus causing Covid-19, majorly causes infections of the respiratory tract, it also affects other organs of the human body such as the eyes and brain. While there is growing evidence to show that coronaviruses can enter the retina of the eye, German researchers have now shown that the virus can also replicate in human eyes. According to the study, published in the Stem Cell Reports, SARS-CoV-2 actually infects retinal cells, especially retinal ganglion cells, but also light-sensitive cells. Furthermore, the researchers show that coronaviruses can also replicate in these cell types. This finding is new and underlines the need to monitor retinal pathologies as a possible consequence of 'Long Covid'. A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine and the Westfalische Wilhelms-Universitat Munster utilised organoids, an organ-like model system, of the retina from human reprogrammed stem cells to study SARS-CoV-2 infection of the retina. The retinal organoids were incubated with SARS-CoV-2 viruses and then using quantitative PCR analysis, the researchers succeeded in detecting Covid mRNA in the organoids, indicating that cells in the organoids were indeed infected by the virus. To measure the active virus concentrations produced by the infected organoids after different incubation times, the researchers used an assay called a "viral plaque assay". Indeed, the assay showed that new viral progeny has been formed in the retinal organoids. "This is the first demonstration that SARS-CoV-2 replicates in human retinal cells," said Thomas Rauen from Max Planck. To find out which cells in the retinal organoids are affected, the researchers analysed the organoids under a fluorescence microscope. With the help of different immune markers for the different cell types of the retina and with a fluorescent antibody against the nucleoprotein (N-protein) of SARS-CoV-2, they found that mainly two cell layers - inner and outer - of the retinal organoids were infected. The outer nuclear layer of the organoids contains the cell bodies of the photoreceptors -- the cones and rods that convert incoming light into nerve impulses. "However, the cell type in which we most frequently detected the N-protein of Sars-CoV-2 is retinal ganglion cells," Yotam Menuchin-Lasowski from the Institute. These cells are located in the innermost cell layer of the retina and transmit all signals from the retina to the brain via the optic nerve. Interestingly, many of the retinal symptoms associated with Covid-19 are related to retinal ganglion cells, but these have previously been associated predominantly with secondary effects of other Covid-induced disease symptoms, such as damage to blood vessels or an increase in eye pressure. "However, our current retina-organoid study shows that infection with SARS-CoV-2 can have direct pathological consequences for retinal ganglion cells, even though visual impairment is not common in patients with Covid-19," Rauen said. "But our data give us reason to believe that so-called long-Covid symptoms may include degenerative retinal disease." (agency) Read More► Natural Covid Antibodies Last 7 Months in Children: Study

London: Women are less likely to receive life-saving treatment for cardiogenic shock than men and thus, are more at risk of death, according to research. Cardiogenic shock is a life-threatening condition in which the heart suddenly fails to pump enough blood to supply the body's organs with sufficient oxygen. It is usually caused by a large heart attack. It is estimated that up to 10 per cent of patients with heart attacks affecting a large area of the heart also develop cardiogenic shock. Only half of the patients who experience cardiogenic shock will survive. Researchers from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark showed that significantly lower proportions of women received mechanical circulatory support (19 per cent women versus 26 per cent men), minimally invasive or surgical procedures to restore blood flow to blocked arteries (83 per cent women versus 88 per cent men), and mechanical ventilation (67 per cent women versus 82 per cent men). Women were thus less likely than men to survive in the short- and long term. At 30 days after the heart event, just 38 per cent of women were alive compared with 50 per cent of men. At 8.5 years, 27 per cent of women were alive compared with 39 per cent of men. "There is increasing evidence that women with acute heart problems are more likely than men to have non-specific symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, coughing, fatigue, and pain in the back, jaw or neck," said Dr Sarah Holle from the varsity. "Increased recognition that women may have symptoms other than chest pain could minimise delays in diagnosis and treatment and potentially improve prognosis," she added. The findings were presented at ESC Acute Cardiovascular Care 2022, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). A total of 1,716 heart attack patients with cardiogenic shock were enrolled in the study, of which 438 (26 per cent) were women. The average age of women was 71 years compared with 66 years for men. "The findings indicate that greater awareness among health professionals that women have heart attacks and may develop cardiogenic shock could be a step towards equitable management and outcomes," Holle said. (Agency) Read More► Greater Risks of Kidney Disease If You Have Diabetes and High BP