Covid-19 News and Discussions

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COVID-19 deaths controversy: Global death toll maybe triple the reported deaths | WION Fineprint​

 

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Brits ‘can buy Covid jab from pharmacies next month’

 

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Can nicotine patches treat long COVID-19 symptoms?​

 

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Health officials reflect on nearly four year anniversary of COVID-19​

 

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Nicotine patches and long COVID? Why some are trying it out - National | Globalnews.ca

While long COVID treatments are still being studied, some unapproved remedies are being touted on social media, including the latest idea to catch trend: nicotine patches.

globalnews.ca

Nicotine patches and long COVID? Why some are trying it out​

By Naomi Barghiel Global News
Posted February 9, 2024 4:11 pm
Updated February 10, 2024 4:26 pm
6 min read



Despite significant progress in understanding COVID-19, concrete treatments for people suffering with long-haul symptoms are still being studied. That’s why some may be resorting to unapproved remedies found on social media, such as one of the latest gaining attention: nicotine patches.

COVID long-haulers in the United States have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, in the past few weeks to share their positive anecdotes with a guided use of slow-release nicotine patches to relieve symptoms.

The trend doesn’t appear to have caught on in Canada, but experts in the country are cautioning patients from trying it out until more research is done to support the medical use of nicotine.
“I understand the motivation, but I would really counsel people to really think long and hard before they commit to this going forward,” Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Disease Centre, told Global News.
If you’re not already a regular consumer, Conway warned that nicotine can result in unwanted side effects such as nausea and headaches. Health Canada notes that new users may experience dizziness, weakness and stomach cramps as well.

2:02Long COVID presents ‘unfathomable’ burden as health-care system reaches ‘boiling point’
Nicotine is found naturally in tobacco leaves and is what makes cigarettes so addictive. The substance can also be found in mints, gum and patches, which are intended to help people quit smoking. While the gum or lozenge can provide quick relief for cravings, patches provide a steady level of nicotine in the body to ease withdrawal symptoms, according to Health Canada.
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Is there a scientific link between nicotine and COVID?​

The current trend of nicotine patches and long COVID symptoms stems from a case study published in January 2023 by Dr. Marco Leitzke, which doesn’t state if it’s been peer-reviewed. It’s based on the theory that nicotine can displace the COVID-19 virus from the receptor, called ACE2, that the virus binds to, helping alleviate symptoms related to long COVID.
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After wearing a nicotine patch for about a week, participants in the study noted an improvement in symptoms such as fatigue and weakness. Other symptoms such as loss of taste and smell began to alleviate around the two-week mark.
Conway says there is validity in the study’s hypothesis, but no more than many other theories that have trended on social media.
Part of the reason for his skepticism is that most studies that circulate are typically very small, including Leitzke’s, which only involved one female and three males.
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6:09Dal researcher tracking effects on long COVID on the brain
“Just because you have a good idea and it makes sense, we generally do studies to make sure that that idea translates into measurable benefit. And we don’t have any of that data having to do with nicotine patches,” Conway said.
Despite the recent attention linking nicotine patches with long-COVID treatment, the idea isn’t new.
One study by researchers in France found early in the pandemic that there were more COVID outpatients who were smokers than non-smoking inpatients. Researchers hypothesized that smokers have some sort of protection against COVID that others don’t, but other studies and reviews later disproved the idea.
A study published last year in the Asthma, Allergy and clinical Immunology journal noted that nicotine and cigarette smoke have very different effects on the human body. Nicotine has both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory properties, the study says, which means it could have a worsening effect on some diseases such as diabetes, but play a healing role in the treatment of other diseases like multiple sclerosis.
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The study concluded that nicotine has a “duel-effect” on the severity of COVID-19 recovery depending on dosage, but noted more research needs to be done before administering the substance as an official treatment.

2:12Long COVID patients decry government closure of in-person clinics
The above mentioned studies don’t state whether they’ve been peer-reviewed.
Dr. Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor in the faculty of information at the University of Toronto, says it’s “entirely possible” that nicotine is effective in treating COVID long-haulers, but the data isn’t there just yet.
“We can go back to the idea that nicotine has anti-inflammatory properties… and some forms of long COVID seem to be very related to inflammation… but long COVID is also very complicated. I don’t want to be naïve about this. It’s not a question of slap on a patch and be immune,” Furness told Global News.
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“The problem is that medical science takes a long time to get anywhere. So in five years, 10 years, 15 years, we might have some great treatments for long COVID. But that’s obviously very little comfort to people who are suffering now,” he said.

Lack of treatments leading to misinformation, experts say​

Currently, there is no cure for long COVID and treatments are scarce. Symptoms can range from extreme fatigue, difficulty breathing, chest pain, dizziness, depression or anxiety or stomach pain, according to Health Canada.
In Canada, Paxlovid (a mix of two anti-viral drugs, oral nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) is the most commonly used treatment option to help ease COVID-19 symptoms. It is currently authorized for use during acute illness — and there is a Canadian clinical trial underway for the long-term use of Paxlovid that may help COVID long-haulers — but again, there still isn’t a magic pill.
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While the exact number of long COVID cases remains uncertain in Canada, preliminary findings from Health Canada’s March 2023 report on the disease found more than 17 per cent of adults who got the virus reported longer-term symptoms after having had COVID-19.
That same month, The Lancet estimated that approximately 65 million people are living with long COVID worldwide. Without answers, many of those sufferers seek advice on social media.
“It’s not surprising that people are seeking alternative treatments, and it’s not surprising that those are available. Some of them may be effective. The pathway to establish whether that’s the case or not is a really long one, and that’s an unfortunate limitation of medicine and science,” Furness said.

2:21Nearly half of Canadians struggle to tell fact from fiction online: StatCan
Without a clear definition and diagnostic criteria of long COVID, misinformation is able to spread, he says.

“This confusion and lack of precision, the variety of manifestations of long COVID, it’s a real challenge. We’ve got a real mismatch between the way COVID behaves and the way we like to think. It makes denial easier. It means that alternative treatments are going to crop up,” Furness said.
Dr. Zahid Butt, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Waterloo, says social media plays a “pivotal role” in pandemic communications and the spread of misinformation.
Butt says the best way patients can assure the information they’re receiving is accurate is to do their research and visit reliable websites such as Health Canada, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Because a lot of these social media websites have a lot of misinformation, some of it intentional and some unintentional, (patients should) verify the information, especially if it’s related to a health topic,” Butt told Global News.
Family doctors are another good source for validating information if you’re fortunate enough to have one, Butt says, but engage with the health care system any way you can.
“It’s possible that there will be new drugs developed for long COVID, so I think there is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

 

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Long COVID in children: A closer look reveals lasting impacts

A comprehensive review in Pediatrics highlights the significant impact of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) in children, revealing a wide range of long-term symptoms and the need for further research on its prevalence, risk factors, and mechanisms.

www.news-medical.net

Long COVID in children: A closer look reveals lasting impacts​

• Download PDF Copy

By Dr. Chinta SidharthanFeb 11 2024Reviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.
In a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, a large team of scientists from the United States (U.S.) reviewed existing studies on post-acute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (PASC) to understand the long-term impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the pediatric population, including factors such as prevalence, clinical characteristics, risk factors, and underlying mechanisms.

STATE-OF-THE-ART REVIEW - Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in Children. Image Credit: Donkeyworx / Shutterstock

Background​

The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has touched multiple spheres of life, with economic and social consequences apart from the massive effect on the medical and healthcare fields. Studies have shown that the pandemic has disproportionately affected specific racial and socioeconomic groups. Furthermore, a significant portion of the population continues to struggle with persistent and debilitating aftereffects and symptoms of COVID-19, which has now been called PASC or long coronavirus disease (long COVID).
Estimates indicate that the U.S. had approximately 20% pediatric cases of COVID-19, of which 10%–20% were thought to develop into PASC, which translates to roughly 5.8 million children in the country. The present study summarizes the current understanding of the epidemiology, prevalence, underlying mechanisms, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of PASC in the pediatric population.

PASC epidemiology​

The review found no consensus on the prevalence of PASC among children, with a 4% to 62% prevalence being reported across studies. The researchers believe that differences in factors such as study design, follow-up durations, diagnostic criteria, and study population are responsible for the wide range of prevalence estimates. Furthermore, the broad symptoms, affecting multiple organ systems, and overlaps with existing comorbidities also make it challenging to diagnose PASC.
There is also a paucity of studies examining the trajectory of PASC in the pediatric population, with very few studies having examined the progression of the disease beyond a year. Studies found that only 15% of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections in children progress to PASC, while 45% of the symptomatic infections were found to result in long-lasting sequelae.
Furthermore, infections with variants before the emergence of Omicron were found to increase the risk of PASC. Increasing age, severity of the infection, higher body weight, chronic underlying medical conditions, and the organ systems affected during the acute SARS-CoV-2 infection were all found to be risk factors for developing PASC.
While the contribution of environmental and psycho-social factors in the development and manifestation of PASC has not been well investigated, the scientists believe that the escalating food and housing insecurity, disruption of educational and health care resources, and lower family income could have increased the mental and physical health problems in children, lowering immunity, and exacerbating existing illnesses.

PASC in children​

Based on existing information, the team formulated a conceptual model for PASC in the pediatric population. They defined PASC in children as a heterogeneous group of symptoms occurring after a SARS-CoV-2 infection, consisting of persistent COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, dyspnea, fatigue, headaches, anosmia, ageusia, and chronic pain. Furthermore, exacerbation of existing conditions such as increased cough in children with asthma, deterioration of neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions, and diabetic ketoacidosis in pediatric diabetes cases are also thought to be a part of PASC.
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The review emphasizes the need to give special consideration to understanding the development of PASC in children at a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections due to existing comorbidities and medical conditions. The researchers also discussed the potential development of de-novo post-acute conditions and the onset of autoimmune disorders. Studies have already reported multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) as being one of the prevalent complications of COVID-19 in children.
The review also provided a comprehensive summary of the wide range of manifestations and symptoms of PASC, including constitutional symptoms such as persistent fatigue, post-exertional malaise, brain fog or difficulty concentrating, depressive symptoms, and somnolence. The researchers also discussed the respiratory, cardiac, neurological, olfactory, gastrointestinal, mental health, musculoskeletal, dermatological, and inflammatory or hematological manifestations of PASC in detail.
Furthermore, the study also examined the role of PASC in exacerbating underlying conditions in children, such as asthma, fibromyalgia, and connective tissue disorders, as well as post-infectious conditions such as MIS-C and de-novo conditions such as diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and neurological problems that could potentially develop during PASC.

Conclusions​

To summarize, the review examined studies investigating the long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infections in children and presented a comprehensive picture of the current understanding of PASC in children. The findings indicate that while the severity and prevalence of COVID-19 in the pediatric population were not as high as in adults, PASC does entail severe and long-lasting consequences, including the development of new autoimmune conditions and diabetes. These results highlight the need to form initiatives to further understand the susceptibility of children with underlying medical conditions to SARS-CoV-2 infections.

 

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