The hottest Research Updates Substack posts right now

Generalizing effects of vitamin D on colds and flu to COVID-19 may not be accurate due to differences in viral mechanisms and effects on ACE2 receptor.
Increasing ACE2 with vitamin D in COVID-19 could potentially enhance viral growth due to exponential replication, leading to more harm than benefit.
Maintaining a conservative approach towards vitamin D supplementation for COVID-19, ensuring not to induce deficiency, finding lowest effective dose, and monitoring levels between 30-40 ng/mL.

Recent research suggests that low lymphocyte percentage and interleukin-6 levels can predict severe outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
A low lymphocyte count below 20% at 10-12 days after symptoms may indicate a severe case, while high IL-6 levels can predict the need for ventilation.
Regular monitoring of lymphocyte counts and IL-6 levels can be valuable in triaging patients and forecasting outcomes in the context of COVID-19.

Blood clotting is common in COVID-19 cases, especially in moderate to severe situations.
Neutrophil NETs and C3 complement activation play a key role in causing clotting in COVID-19.
Anti-phospholipid antibodies are prevalent in COVID-19 patients and contribute significantly to the clotting cascade.

COVID-19 affects taste, specifically blunting the perception of sweetness at low sugar concentrations.
The inability to taste sweetness at low levels suggests COVID-19 and is quite common.
The study indicates that the inability to taste low levels of sweetness is strongly linked to COVID-19.

The first study with pre-infection vitamin D levels weakens the association with COVID-19 risk.
Maintaining a vitamin D level of 30-35 ng/mL may reduce infection risks by 42%.
The study suggests a weak association between pre-infection vitamin D status and positive COVID-19 tests.

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The first randomized controlled trial (RCT) showed that blocking IL-6 improved hypoxia in COVID-19, indicating a potential for better treatment outcomes.
The study suggests a link between vitamin D and lactoferrin in potentially reducing IL-6 levels, supporting their use as beneficial supplements in managing COVID-19.
The study also highlights the importance of high-quality whey protein in lowering IL-6 levels, potentially aiding in the management of COVID-19.

The virus has mutated to spread faster, with the G allele becoming dominant and potentially facilitating easier cell entry and enhanced spread.
The mutation in the spike protein is associated with a slightly higher viral load, but it's uncertain if it impacts the severity of the disease.
The rapid mutations of the virus could pose challenges for immunity development, herd immunity, and vaccine effectiveness, making it crucial to continue limiting exposure and supporting immune defenses.

Anosmia and ageusia are strong predictors of COVID-19, even without other symptoms.
Fever and cough together are more predictive of COVID-19 compared to when they occur individually.
Sweating and diarrhea, when combined, provide better predictive power for COVID-19.

A compound in Chinese Skullcap called baicalein has shown potential to inhibit the replication of COVID-19 virus in experiments, but more research is needed to understand its effectiveness in humans.
Isolated baicalein was found to be much more powerful than crude extract in inhibiting the main protease enzyme, but only slightly more effective in inhibiting viral replication, suggesting other components in the extract may also play a role.
The metabolization of baicalein in humans to baicalin may reduce its effectiveness in inhibiting COVID-19 growth, highlighting the importance of further studies to determine the actual antiviral properties of baicalin.

Vitamin D status below 30 ng/mL is linked to severe disease and mortality in COVID-19 patients from South Asian and Southeast Asian hospitals.
New studies show the association between Vitamin D and COVID-19 severity extends beyond South and Southeast Asia, even to Europe.
Maintaining 25(OH)D close to 30 ng/mL is still recommended, despite new insights from the recent studies.

COVID-19 antibodies remain at high levels but start losing effectiveness after two months, suggesting short-term immunity.
Research indicates that antibodies show decline in effectiveness by day 50 and may lose most effectiveness by three months.
High antibody levels do not necessarily guarantee long-lasting immunity, highlighting the need for continued research into reliable markers of immunity.