Disease

The clinical evolution of COVID-19 differs greatly from one patient to another: there may be few or no symptoms, only moderate illness and complete recovery, severe illness with a developing acute respiratory distress (SARS), or multiple organ failure and eventual death. Several factors influence this development: age, genetic or immune system predispositions, obesity, diabetes, or […]

COVID-19 takes on different forms depending on the patient, from asymptomatic to very severe cases. The majority of patients do, however, manifest moderate symptoms. In patients with severe symptoms, a huge immune response occurs, notably involving neutrophil polynuclear cells, monocytes and platelets, but this  response seems to be ineffective. The causes and consequences of these […]

The international day of education took place on the 24th of January. It provided an opportunity to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on the health of children and adolescents. The closure of schools, the lockdowns and on-line teaching have all had an effect on their physical and mental health. For the youngest children, the first […]

Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 may develop severe pneumonia, requiring respiratory support. Even though this condition affects only a minority of infected patients, it is the principal cause of death. Different clinical observations suggest that the inflammatory reaction caused by infection of the alveolar cells by SARS-CoV-2 may be different to that caused by other infectious […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the death of almost 2 million people across the world. In hospitals and research laboratories, knowledge about the illness has increased and certain treatments as well as vaccines have been developed. Autopsies have provided morphological information allowing us to see which organ failure has led to death. However, little molecular […]

COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the severity of the illness it brings about varies hugely, from asymptomatic cases to very serious cases that can lead to death. The impact of this variability on the development of immune protection as the illness progresses is still largely unknown. Studies on vaccines currently in development […]

The pathophysiology (body function disruption) of critical COVID-19 cases is qualitatively different from other cases. Amongst other elements, hyper-inflammation, massive infiltration of macrophage into the lungs and thromboses have been noted, with overall damage to lung functioning. In patients with respiratory distress, corticosteroids (steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) have substantial therapeutic benefits, while in other patients they […]

Mortality rates and the severity of COVID-19 are associated with high levels of cytokines and certain inflammatory biomarkers, molecules that are essential in diagnosis. The cytokines, like Interleuken IL-6, are small immunological proteins produced after infection that remotely regulate the activity of immune cells. As for the biomarker, it is a measurable biological substance linked […]

Currently, the main aim is the development of a vaccine against COVID-19. Its development is mostly based on the establishment of an immune response, that would provide long lasting and effective protection against any possible infection, by the COVID-19 virus.