A project led by researchers at Getúlio Vargas Foundation in Brazil and the University of Michigan in the US produced a detailed analysis of the effects of public policies and government decisions on the response to COVID-19, highlighting the factors that influenced its success or failure in many countries and regions around the world.
The study was conducted in the city of São Paulo, with over 2,000 participants who were active or retired staff of the University of São Paulo and enrolled in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brazil). The researchers say the city has one of the highest prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders in the world.
The initiative is being implemented as a partnership between local government, DASA Laboratories and FAPESP.
The platform holds more than 50 million datasets from 800,000 patients in Brazil and has registered some 4,000 downloads by users in 36 countries.
In an online seminar organized by FAPESP, researchers in Brazil and the United States presented preliminary results of studies on mental health and quality of life among survivors of COVID-19 up to six months after discharge from hospital.
Tests performed by Brazilian researchers after the first 16 weeks of COVID-19-induced confinement showed loss of muscle strength and diminished aerobic capacity, as well as an increase in cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin, both of which are risk factors for metabolic disorders.
Butantan Institute produces CoronaVac and is testing two new vaccines. Four projects are under way at the University of São Paulo, and two at startups supported by FAPESP’s PIPE innovation funding program.
An online study involving 154 volunteers measured the importance of visual cues to communication for people with normal hearing and hearing loss.
A study conducted at São Paulo State University shows that mathematical models used to describe the physical behavior of magnetic materials can also be used to describe the spread of the disease.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo conducted experiments with blood plasma from 60 volunteers infected in 2020 by SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.28. In 84% of cases, antibodies in the samples neutralized the Gamma variant in cultured cells.
The presence of Candida auris in a hospital in Salvador, Bahia, was confirmed at end-2020 and reported in an article in the Journal of Fungi. The fungus can cause a lethal invasive disease and is ringing alarm bells because of the speed with which it develops drug resistance.
An Anglo-Brazilian research center analyzed samples from blood donors tested for antibodies against the novel coronavirus.
Supported by FAPESP and led by a researcher at the Federal University of São Paulo, EPICOVID-19 BR 2 tested 120,000 people in 133 cities between January 25 and April 24, 2021. Amazonas was the state with the highest seroprevalence, with positive test results accounting for 31.4%. The nationwide average was 15%.
The discovery, made possible by a partnership between a research group and a startup in São Paulo state (Brazil), could lead to novel treatments for intracranial hypertension and its complications, such as stroke.
A group at the University of Campinas used protein mapping to show how abnormal levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate impair the functioning of neurons and oligodendrocytes. The findings could serve as a basis for more effective treatment.
Patients with dementia and especially Alzheimer’s run a threefold risk of dying as a result of infection by SARS-CoV-2. The risk is six times greater if they are over 80, according to a study by Brazilian researchers.
Models for professional use were the most effective at retaining aerosol particles of a size equivalent to the novel coronavirus, followed by TNT masks sold in drugstores. The efficacy of fabric masks ranged from 15% to 70%. A tight fit and lack of seams enhanced protection.
The largest series of autopsies ever performed on children who died from COVID-19 showed that the ability of the novel coronavirus to invade and damage the tissue of all major organs is one of the factors leading to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
Brazilian researchers studied the case of identical twins in which only one sibling was reinfected and developed complications after a second exposure to the virus. Their analysis showed that the adaptive immune response can be different even between individuals with the same genome.
This is the main finding of a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The authors analyzed blood samples collected in a town in the Brazilian Amazon before and after the first wave of the pandemic to detect the presence of antibodies against dengue virus and SARS-CoV-2.
Trials performed by researchers at the University of São Paulo with healthy young adults show that the right level of protein intake is the key to muscle health, regardless of protein source.
The research group created a virus capable of acting on specific adult brain regions, helping to elucidate the role of key neurons in the prefrontal cortex. They tested the technique on mice.
Conclusion was drawn from a study that involved 92 adolescents aged 11-18. The findings underscore the importance of considering differences between the sexes when treatment is planned.
Brazilian scientists conducted preclinical trials to test membranes produced from mesenchymal stem cells that can differentiate to cartilage and promote local immunoregulation.
Researchers at the University of Campinas in Brazil reveal the mechanisms whereby SARS-CoV-2 disrupts the regulation of inflammation, coagulation and blood pressure when it infects alveolar cells, responsible for gas exchange in the lungs.
