Library
PLOS Pathogens: Effect of obesity on the acute response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and development of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) in nonhuman primates
ABSTRACT Long-term adverse consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection, termed “long COVID” or post-acute sequelae of COVID (PASC), are a major component of overall COVID-19 disease burden. Prior obesity and metabolic disease increase the severity of acute disease, but SARS-CoV-2 infection also contributes to the development of new-onset metabolic disease. Since the COVID pandemic occurred in the context of the global obesity epidemic, an important question is the extent to which pre-existing obesity modifies long...
Jul 24, 2025
Nature Communications: Accelerated brain ageing during the COVID-19 pandemic
ABSTRACT The impact of SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic on brain health is recognised, yet specific effects remain understudied. We investigate the pandemic’s impact on brain ageing using longitudinal neuroimaging data from the UK Biobank. Brain age prediction models are trained from hundreds of multi-modal imaging features using a cohort of 15,334 healthy participants. These models are then applied to an independent cohort of 996 healthy participants with two magnetic resonance imaging scans: either bo...
Jul 22, 2025
Small: Polysialosides Outperform Sulfated Analogs for Binding with SARS-CoV-2
ABSTRACT Both polysialosides and polysulfates are known to interact with the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. However, a comprehensive site by site analysis of their binding affinities and potential synergistic antiviral effects have not been performed. Here, we report on the synthesis of polysialosides with nanomolar binding affinities to spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 in solution using microscale thermophoresis. The dendritic polyglycerol based polysialosides dPG500SA0.55 and d...
Jul 16, 2025
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports: Post-COVID-19 Condition in Track and Field Master Athletes: Severity, Symptoms, and Associations With Quality of Life and C-Reactive Protein Levels
ABSTRACT Here, we assessed the prevalence of post-COVID-condition (PCC, also known as long-COVID) and investigated its associations with health-related quality of life and immune-related biomarkers in track and field masters athletes (MAs). A total of 216 MAs (114 males, 102 females; age: 58.3 ± 11.9 vs. 56.6 ± 11.7 years; BMI: 23.6 [22.2–24.8] vs. 21.3 [20.0–23.6] kg/m2) reported their post-COVID-conditions via the Post-COVID Syndrome Questionnaire (PCSQ). In a subgroup of 108 MAs, fasting blood samples we...
Jul 12, 2025
Science Advances: SARS-CoV-2 induces Alzheimer’s disease–related amyloid-β pathology in ex vivo human retinal explants and retinal organoids
ABSTRACT While the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease remains unknown, there is growing support for the amyloid-β antimicrobial hypothesis. Amyloid-β, the main component of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease, has been shown to be generated in the presence of microbes. Entrapment of microbes by aggregated amyloid-β may serve as an innate immune response to pathogenic infections. To understand the association of amyloid-β plaques and pathogenic infections in the central nervous system, we obtained viable sho...
Jul 4, 2025