Lifeboat Foundation

Amid a coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging older people and people with severe chronic medical conditions to “stay at home as much as possible.”

This advice is on a CDC website that was posted Thursday, according to a CDC spokeswoman.

Early data suggests older people are twice as likely to have serious illness from the novel coronavirus, according to the CDC.

Avigan was developed as a flu medicine and also has been used for Ebola virus disease (EVD) treatment. EVD, which causes fatal hemorrhagic fever, resulted in more than 11,300 deaths in the West Africa region between 2014 and 2016. There is currently another outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has seen more than 2,000 fatalities to date.

HONG KONG – Fujifilm Holdings Corp. stock (TYO:4901) jumped 8.8% to ¥5,890 (US$53.48) on Feb. 25, as Japan considers using Avigan (favipiravir), an anti-influenza medication developed by the company’s Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd., to treat COVID-19. The share price ended the day at ¥5,567, for a gain of 2.83%.

The medication attracted market attention when Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Katsunobu Kato said on Feb. 22 that the country is planning to test Avigan against COVID-19. “We hear from foreign countries that some drugs among those that have been used against influenza may be useful,” Kato said.

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According to the first author of the study George Thomas, “It’s really promising to see measures like this, which can potentially track the varying progression of Parkinson’s disease, as it could help clinicians devise better treatment plans for people based on how their condition manifests.”

The co-author of the study, Dr. Julio Acosta-Cabronero from Tenoke Ltd. and the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL, also comments on the findings:

Don’t like needles?

Within this system, the transmission of signals between neurons in the brain occurs via the trace amine-associated receptor 5 (TAAR5). The results of the study will allow the development of new types of drugs for depression, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders.

Bioterrorism is defined as the intentional use of biological, chemical, nuclear, or radiological agents to cause disease, death, or environmental damage. Early recognition of a bioterrorist attack is of utmost importance to minimize casualties and initiate appropriate therapy. The range of agents that could potentially be used as weapons is wide, however, only a few of these agents have all the characteristics making them ideal for that purpose. Many of the chemical and biological weapons can cause neurological symptoms and damage the nervous system in varying degrees. Therefore, preparedness among neurologists is important. The main challenge is to be cognizant of the clinical syndromes and to be able to differentiate diseases caused by bioterrorism from naturally occurring disorders. This review provides an overview of the biological and chemical warfare agents, with a focus on neurological manifestation and an approach to treatment from a perspective of neurological critical care.

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13311-011‑0097-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Keywords: Neuroterrorism, Bioterrorism, Warfare Agents.

The race is on to identify an effective vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. Once discovered, the next challenge will be manufacturing and distributing it around the world.

My research group has developed a novel method to stabilize live viruses and other biological medicines in a rapidly dissolving film that does not require refrigeration and can be given by mouth.

Since the ingredients to make the film are inexpensive and the process is relatively simple, it could make vaccine campaigns much more affordable. Large quantities could be shipped and distributed easily given its flat, space saving shape.

CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations Dr Richard Hatchett explains the long-term dangers of the Covid-19 coronavirus — saying it’s the scariest outbreak he’s dealt with in his 20-year career. (Subscribe: https://bit.ly/C4_News_Subscribe)

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Continue reading “Coronavirus expert: ‘War is an appropriate analogy’” »

Finding new medicines is like finding a needle in a haystack. By linking a powerful computational approach to advances in chemical manufacturing, this company is making piles of needles.