Disease

Although SARS-CoV-2 principally targets the respiratory system, COVID-19 patients may also suffer from neurological and psychiatric symptoms. These symptoms may range from loss of smell or headaches to encephalitis or stroke. These neuropathologies may be the direct consequence of brain cells being attacked by the virus, or an indirect consequence of the peripheral immune response. […]

The clinical signs of COVID-19 vary, but are characterised overall by an inappropriate immune response. We now know that the overactivation of the innate immune response contributes in large part to the physiopathology of the illness. We also know that neutralising antibodies protect us against infection by SARS-CoV-2. But recent studies suggest that any deregulation […]

Around 20% of COVID-19 patients suffer from respiratory failure necessitating the use of oxygen or of ventilators. In general, these patients are categorised as severely or critically ill (the latter when there is a risk of death) according to a number of clinical characteristics, such as oxygen saturation. However, it is necessary to develop approaches […]

Infection by SARS-CoV-2 leads in 15% of cases to severe illness associated with respiratory distress syndrome and increased morbidity and mortality. The difficulties of taking samples from patients, often limited to broncho-alveolar fluids, hinders understanding of the consequences of infection at lung tissue level. Researchers at the University of Columbia instigated a programme of rapid […]

The clinical indications of COVID-19 can range from asymptomatic infection to death, the latter often caused by acute respiratory distress syndrome, hyper-inflammation or multiple organ failure. However, numerous questions remain on the physiopathology of this illness, particularly since genetic studies are compromised by the deterioration of post-mortem material. American researchers at Harvard University and the […]

The clinical symptoms of the acute phase of COVID-19 have been described in detail and involve pulmonary and extrapulmonary manifestations. However, cases of “long COVID” have also been reported, and some patients continue to suffer persistent symptoms over several months. Researchers at Saint-Louis, Missouri in the United States have listed the clinical symptoms that patients […]

Cellular ageing is a multifactorial process of molecular changes leading to the progressive degradation of biological functions. It is a major risk factor for many illnesses (cancer, heart attacks, pneumonia…) that occur in the context of COVID-19. These changes can be detected in the genome, in intracellular signalling, in organelles and in the cellular phenotype. […]

The severity of COVID-19 is due to an inflammatory syndrome caused by over-activation of the immune system, reacting against its incapacity to eradicate the virus. This over-inflammation causes lung damage which brings about respiratory distress and a change in the blood’s immune profile and in the level of lung alveoli. There is excessive activation of […]

The health crisis caused by COVID-19 has serious implications for many chronic illnesses, notably obesity and type 2 diabetes. These conditions involve a higher risk of developing severe illness after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Type 2 diabetes involves the deregulation of glucose levels in the blood (hyperglycemia). High blood sugar levels cause numerous damaging effects over the […]

Antibodies are important weapons in the organism’s protective armoury against pathogens. They are made up of 2 domains: the Fc portion, recognised by the immune effector cells (lymphocytes for example) and the Fab portion, which recognizes the antigen. It is important to note the presence of a glycan (sugar), at position 297 in the Fc […]