A: Not quite. The drugs that Donald Trump received after contracting COVID-19 are either still in clinical trials or available in limited quantities for people with serious infections. Trump received a level of treatment that is not available to the general public yet. While scientists have developed lots of new knowledge to better manage infections, Read more…
A: In short, neutralizing monoclonal antibodies are specialized proteins that can stop a particular virus from entering a cell and using it to make lots of copies of itself. Drug companies are developing a few different monoclonal antibodies intended to both prevent and treat COVID-19. When a virus gets inside your body and is identified Read more…
A: Possibly. There is no specific evidence for COVID-19 yet, but use of a neti pot *may* provide a benefit with limited risks. But don’t use it as a replacement for any other preventive measures. Neti pots are a type of “nasal irrigation” that are used to help clear sinuses and treat symptoms of allergies, Read more…
A. The evidence suggests it’s still not clear. For today’s #TBT, we’re revisiting our previous post from May 12 which summarized the history, rationale, evidence to date around the use of blood plasma (also referred to as convalescent plasma) to treat COVID19. This was also a popular question from our weekly roundup, *and* it’s been Read more…
A: The best evidence (still) suggests a resounding nay. ***** EDITED: 11:44 am to include FDA evidence review in the reference section ******* For our TGIF post we’re going to revisit the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) debate, because let’s get real, friends…..it’s been quite the week on the HCQ information frontlines. We Nerdy Girls are here to Read more…
THE DATA (STILL) SUGGEST “NO” New data out of the Detroit area find that hospitalized COVID patients receiving hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) were less likely to die than those not receiving the drug. Sensational headlines ensued. The scientific community sighed in disappointment and frustration. Why? (1) Administration of HCQ was NOT RANDOMIZED (2) The HCQ and non-HCQ Read more…
A: New discoveries happen every day! In addition to research taking place to develop a vaccine, many clinicians and researchers are learning more about how to treat Covid-19 infection. The new knowledge about treatment falls into three categories: 1) pathophysiology of Covid-19 infection, 2) decreasing disease severity, and 3) minimizing long-term complications. Understanding the physiologic Read more…
A: What a confusing jumble! We Nerdy Girls like to keep the following phrase in mind: TREATMENT TIMING MATTERS. Different treatments target different points in the disease course, as helpfully demonstrated in these figures. Punchline: We’ll need an entire bag of treatment tricks to beat this devilishly nasty disease. A little more context: First we Read more…
A: Absolutely. To answer this question, we turn to the analysis of others….because we also love elevating others’ excellent and succinct work for you. This quick video by The Incidental Economist hits on the major points of the retracted studies and where we are now. It also ends on a hopeful message: “Science isn’t perfect. Read more…
BREAKING NEWS: A well-designed study by a respectable research group has yielded preliminary results indicating that a common, inexpensive steroid reduced deaths among very ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Nerdy Girl initial reactions: (1) THE STUDY IS WELL-DESIGNED Using the 3 Cs Framework: COMPARISON, CHANCE, and CONTEXT a) There is a randomly assigned COMPARISON group Read more…
A. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) made headlines recently because a published observational study that raised alarms about its safety was retracted by the study’s authors. What does this mean? The results of scientific studies traditionally go through a rigorous review process by other researchers who were not involved in the original study. After this process, the article Read more…
A: If someone in your household develops symptoms of COVID-19 (see link below for symptom list), or suspects they have been exposed to COVID-19, they should contact their health care provider to get a test or, if available, visit a community testing site to get tested for COVID-19. If COVID-19 is suspected based on symptoms Read more…
A: Yes! Three happy pieces of news this week: (1) The launch of an early-stage clinical trial for what’s believed to be the world’s first antibody treatment against COVID-19; (2) A Stat News interview with Dr. Fauci showcasing his cautious optimism about vaccine development; (3) New data on the anti-viral Remdesivir indicating the treatment’s effectiveness Read more…
A: Here is the best evidence we found. Vitamin C: No. Modest evidence in prevention (even for the common cold). Evidence for treatment is still being examined in COVID-19 but unlikely to yield much benefit. May reduce ICU stay length and decrease need for mechanical ventilation but still being studied. Vitamin D: Yes to daily Read more…
A: The Nerdy Girls want nothing more to wake up one day to this type of COVID-19 “game-changer” news. Maybe this was all a bad dream! For now, we lean towards consuming this stream of press with both cautious optimism AND skepticism. The news story in question from Friday came from a press release by Read more…
A. Convalescent plasma is a treatment that’s more than a century old and has been previously used as treatment for other infectious diseases, including the 1918 Pandemic Flu, MERS, and the 2003 outbreak of SARS. It involves taking antibody-rich blood plasma from recovered, healthy donors, and transfusing it into patients with severe disease as a Read more…
A: Quick version, watch these videos and share! Remdesivir Immunity ~Aparna Link to original FB post
A (short): “Remdesivir isn’t a home run but looks active and can be part of a toolbox of drugs and diagnostics that substantially lower our risk heading into the fall,” says former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb. A (long): The stock market and news media are brimming with optimism around the release of clinical trial data Read more…
A: Promising preliminary results from an uncontrolled study, but more evidence needed. News broke late this week about results from a study at the University of Chicago of 125 COVID-19 patients, 113 of whom were severe cases. The patients in the trial were given a daily intravenous infusion of remdesivir, an antiviral medication produced by Read more…
