Niacin, the B vitamin that was previously used to improve lipid profiles and reduce the risk of heart disease, promotes arterial inflammation and cardiovascular risk through its metabolites
The risk of new-onset dementia after Covid in older adults (age 60+) from a systematic review of 11 studies vs controls is ~60% increased; after severe Covid, a 17-fold increased risk; shows up at 6 months https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4716751 (preprint)
Important discovery related to LongCovid: Fragments of SARS-CoV-2 virus can reassemble into "zombie" complexes (XenoAMP-dsDNA) and induce a major and sustained immune response, affecting healthy, uninfected cells, not seen with common cold coronaviruses
The XBB.1.5 "updated" Covid vaccine booster provided ~54% increased protection *against symptomatic infections* (including vs. JN.1 variant) compared with not getting it.
Among 67 million people in the UK, consequences of not getting a Covid vaccine, especially among older adults, age 75+: Missing 1 shot had a similar risk of severe Covid as missing all 4 shots (2.7 vs 3.1-fold, respectively), emphasizing waned immunity https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02467-4/fulltext
Brain injury, loss of grey matter, and cognitive dysfunction at 1-year in people initially hospitalized compared with controls #LongCovid https://researchsquare.com/article/rs-3818580/v1 preprint "cognitive deficits...equivalent in magnitude to 20 years of aging" Image
Engineered secretory IgA antibodies vs Omicron (BA.1, BA.2, BA.5) were 25 to 75-fold more potent than shots (->IgG) for neutralization. A single nasal spray dose prevented infections in the mouse model https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2315354120
The JN.1 variant is completing its takeover in the United States, pegged at 62% of new cases in today's CDC update (which is about 2 weeks behind actual d/t sequencing lag). It's also globally dominant.
Shedding of SARS-Co-V2 and infecting others is inversely related to the level of spike-specific secretory-IgA antibodies and how quickly they rise, emphasizing why mucosal immunity/nasal vaccines are essential to block spread https://pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2314808120