Washington, DC - A clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of an investigational monoclonal antibody for treating people who are hospitalized with respiratory disease and low blood oxygen due to infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has begun. The Phase 2 trial, called the COVID-19 anti-CD14 Treatment Trial (CaTT), is sponsored and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Washington, DC - Many people who have COVID-19 make a full recovery and return to their baseline state of health; however, some people have symptoms or other sequelae weeks or months after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. These heterogeneous symptoms were the subject of the virtual “Workshop on Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19” hosted on Dec. 2 and 4, 2020, by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in collaboration with other institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health. A paper published recently in Annals of Internal Medicine describes the workshop. Over 1,200 registered participants including researchers, clinicians, and affected community members discussed what is known about sequelae after COVID-19 and the knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in future research.

Washington, DC - A large study of children has uncovered evidence that behavioral problems in children who snore may be associated with changes in the structure of their brain’s frontal lobe. The findings support early evaluation of children with habitual snoring (snoring three or more nights a week). The research, published in Nature Communications, was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and nine other Institutes, Centers, and Offices of the National Institutes of Health.

San Diego, California - Irvine resident Joserodel Zavala Candelario was sentenced in federal court yesterday to 36 months in federal custody for his participation in two huge health care fraud schemes, and for concealing income he received from those multi-million dollar schemes.

Washington, DC - Researchers from the National Institutes of Health have identified and tested a drug combination that exploits a weakness in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), an aggressive, dangerous cancer. The scientists targeted a vulnerability in how the cancer cells reproduce, increasing already high levels of replication stress ­­-- a hallmark of out-of-control cell growth in many cancers that can damage DNA and force cancer cells to constantly work to repair themselves. In a small clinical trial, the drug duo shrank the tumors of SCLC patients. The team reported its findings April 12 in Cancer Cell.

San Diego, California - Liberty Gutierrez pleaded guilty today to conspiring to launder the proceeds of a bribery scheme involving a former employee of the Naval Information Warfare Center in San Diego, California, and various defense contractors.