The product liability lawsuits claim Merck did this in a variety of ways, including using a highly toxic placebo during small clinical trials to hide the true rate of Gardasil injuries and complications, manipulating study protocols, and claiming serious side effects that occurred during the clinical trials among many of the participants were coincidences.
According to Makkis lawsuit, neither he nor his doctors knew the true risks of Gardasil when he received his first HPV vaccination in August 2019, when he was 35. He had agreed, on the advice of his doctor, to receive the vaccine for the prevention of the HPV virus. He received his second shot the next month, and a third injection in February 2020.
After the injections, Makki began to experience extremely painful and incapacitating headaches which prevented him from doing many daily activities, the lawsuit indicates. The migraines worsened over time, and he also began to experience anxiety attacks, short-term memory loss, insomnia, dizziness, vertigo, numbness and tingling in his extremities, photophobia and hair loss.
He has been diagnosed with autonomic dysfunction, migraines, alopecia, and telogen effluvium, according to the lawsuit.
Makki indicates the medical community, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, were deceived by Merck during both the drugs development and approval, and marketing.
Merck engaged in wholesale fraud during its safety and efficacy clinical studies. In order to obtain its Gardasil license, Merck purposefully conducted its studies to conceal adverse events and exaggerate efficacy, the lawsuit states. The dishonesty in the clinical tests has led many physicians to recommend the vaccination, under false assumptions.
The lawsuit claims Merck kept some of its clinical trial results secret, and injected control subjects with a placebo that contained a toxic adjuvant; an ingredient used to create a stronger immune response, which led to similar injuries in both groups. Merck presented those findings as indications Gardasil was as safe as a placebo without mentioning use of the adjuvant, according to Makkis complaint.
Those results included increased death rates among recipients of the drug, an increase in fertility problems after Gardasil vaccination, as well as other injuries. These problems have resulted in several countries removing their recommendations, including Japan and Columbia. In addition, Denmark has opened specialized clinics dealing with Gardasil injuries, and India put a stop to Gardasil trials in its own country after several female subjects died, the lawsuit claims.
However, the lawsuit indicates Merck has still profited handsomely off the Gardasil vaccine, pulling in $6.9 billion in revenue from the injections in 2022. Two doses of the latest iteration, Gardasil 9, costs about $450.
Makkis complaint will be consolidated with about 100 other similar lawsuits over the Gardasil HPV vaccine currently pending in the federal court system, which have been centralized as part of a Gardasil MDL (multidistrict litigation)in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
There are also a substantial number of additional claims pending in the U.S. Vaccine Court, where families must initially bring a petition seeking compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, before they are able to bring a civil lawsuit if the claim is not resolved within eight months.
Given common questions of fact and law presented in the HPV vaccine lawsuits, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad is presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings, which is expected to involve a series of early bellwether trials designed to help gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.
While the parties work to prepare agroup of Gardasil cases for trial, injury lawyers are continuing to investigate and file new lawsuits for individuals who experienced a variety of complications from the HPV vaccine, including:
Following coordinated discovery and any bellwether trials in the federal MDL, if the parties fail to reach Gardasil settlements or another resolution for the litigation, Judge Conrad may later establish a process to begin remanding each individual claim back to U.S. District Courts nationwide for individual trial dates in the future.
(Precision Vaccinations News)
According to an update recently published by theAfrica Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), yellow fever outbreaks continueacross the continent in 2023.
As of October 28, 2023, the Africa CDC reported a total of 2,779 yellow fever cases, and 36 deaths (CFR: 1.3%)have been reported in seven African Union countries this year.
The impactedcountries are Cameroon (41 cases; 4 deaths), CAR (326; 5), Congo (324; 2), Gabon (79; 0), Guinea (178; 4), Nigeria (1,819; 21), and Uganda (12; 0).
In 2022, 12 countries in the African Regionreported confirmed yellow fever cases.
Yellow fever is an epidemic-prone, vaccine-preventable disease transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. The incubation period ranges from 3 to 6 days. While many people do not experience symptoms, individuals can have more severe symptoms.
Death can occur within 7 - 10 days in about half of cases with severe symptoms.
According to the WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coveragein 2021, routine immunization coverage against yellow fever in the African Region for childhood vaccinations was 48%, much lower than the threshold required to confer population immunity.
In reaction to these data, the WHO and Africa CDCre-assessed the health risk at the regional level in 2022 as moderate.
Currently, the U.S. population is mostly unvaccinated against yellow fever, andthe U.S. Strategic Stockpile has not secured vaccine reserves.
During a sizable epidemic in the U.S., the demand for yellow fever vaccines could surpass production capacities. Sanofi Pasteur'sYF-VAXvaccineis the only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccine as of November 2023.
For many international travelers, proof of yellow fever vaccination is a requirement to visit at-risk countries, such as Brazil.
On April 29, 2022, a British citizen developed a rash while traveling in Nigeria. After returning to the U.K., he decided to go to the hospital as his rash got worse, lymph nodes swelled and fever rose. The doctors confirmed it was monkeypox, or mpox, as it was renamed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Monkeypox is a disease caused by a virus that usually spreads from animals to humans but rarely between humans. However, in just one month last spring, thousands of cases were reported worldwide and the WHO declared it an international public health emergency. Recent research by virologists has shown that the strain causing the outbreak had been circulating among humans for several years. They also found that a specific human enzyme with antiviral activity may have accelerated the mutation rate of the virus, raising concerns among scientists about the future of mpox.
The mpox threat has diminished now. While new infections persist, the WHO lifted its alert in the summer. However, the pathogen remains present, and its origin remains unknown. Historically, outbreaks typically involve transmission from animals to humans, often rodents or apes, with limited human-to-human transmissions. The virus did not effectively adapt to the human environment. However, something seemed to have changed in 2022. Within a few months, thousands of people got infected and by the end of October 2023, the number had already exceeded 91,000. Surprisingly, most of them had not traveled to countries like Nigeria or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where mpox is typically found. This suggests that there was ongoing person-to-person transmission, which is not usually associated with a zoonotic (transmitted from animals) disease.
A group of scientists, including some who initially studied SARS-Cov-2, have recently sequenced the genome of nearly 100 mpox virus samples, some of which date back to the 1960s. The purpose of this research was to identify the origin of the B.1 strain responsible for the 2022 outbreak. This strain is categorized under clade IIb and originated in West Africa. Thankfully, it is about 10 times less lethal than clade II viruses found in Central Africa.
Their research study published in Science suggests that the 2022 samples are not the first instances of the outbreak. They share up to 42 mutations in their DNA, which were traced back to a 2015 case that already displayed one of these changes. In the following year, Nigerian authorities reported some cases of mpox in humans. Initially, they were believed to be of zoonotic origin and unrelated to each other. However, the researchers concluded that there had been sustained human-to-human transmission since 2016.
Its not clear what led to the global spread of B.1. There doesnt seem to be anything particularly different about this lineage of the virus.
To support this conclusion, they pointed to the origin of the 42 changes in the viral DNA, focusing on nucleotides the fundamental elements of DNA (A, T, G and C). They found that nearly all of these mutations are associated with an enzyme called APOBEC3, which is present in most mammals. Rodents, known as virus reservoirs, only have one copy of this enzyme in the spleen and bone marrow, not in other tissues. In humans, the enzyme is part of the immune system and helps remove parts of the viruss DNA that hinder replication. These genetic modifications emerged after 2017, indicating that they did not occur prior to the virus transmission from animals to humans.
The lead author of the research study, virologist ine OToole from the University of Edinburgh (U.K.), said, Since it began affecting humans in 2016, the changes made to the APOBEC3 gene are visible as scars on the virus genome. When viruses replicate, they expose their DNA, which allows this enzyme to replace certain letters with others. This interference affects the replicative machinery in most cases, but sometimes the pathogen still manages to replicate, now marked with APOBEC3. However, OToole doesnt have an answer for why the outbreak occurred in May 2022 after circulating for at least six years. Its not clear what led to the global spread of B.1. There doesnt seem to be anything particularly different about this lineage of the virus. It probably spread widely because it entered specific population networks.
Antonio Alcam, a virologist with Spains Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center (CMB/CSIC), underscores the importance of knowing when it began to circulate: It was previously considered to be of recent origin. However, the same strain of the virus responsible for the 2022 outbreak has been detected in humans since 2016. Alcam (who did not participate in this study) says these latest findings are very significant. It was believed that mpox did not infect humans, but we now know otherwise, which serves as a warning that mpox is indeed adapting to humans.
The longer the virus circulates among people, the greater the likelihood that it will adapt to the human body.
One possible factor could be that APOBEC3 has accelerated mpoxs mutation rate. Compared to previous orthopoxviruses like human smallpox, which had a very slow rate of change, mpox displayed 42 DNA changes in two to three years. This is a significantly faster rate 28 times faster than previous mpox lineages. The main point is to determine whether these mutations increase transmissibility among humans, said Ral Rivas, a professor of microbiology and genetics at the University of Salamanca (Spain). Rivas also stresses the importance of dating the first cases with these mutations. The longer the virus circulates among people, the greater the likelihood that it will adapt to the human body.
The authors of the study clarified that although the antiviral enzyme is responsible for the mutations in the B.1 lineage, it does not necessarily imply that APOBEC3 is boosting the viruss ability to replicate and transmit among humans. Fernando Gonzlez, a professor at the University of Valencia (Spain) who studies phylogenomics (reconstructing the evolutionary histories of organisms), notes, APOBEC3 does not directly cause mutations, but it is mutagenic. Some of these mutations have increased the viruss transmissibility. The next urgent step is to link the antiviral enzyme with this increased capacity for contagion.
The study concludes that if a connection between APOBEC3 and the long-term presence of mpox in humans is discovered, it would represent a significant shift in our understanding of the virus. Oriol Mitj, from the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital in Barcelona, participated in the discovery of a necrotizing form of mpox in people with advanced HIV. We can expect new zoonotic outbreaks of mpox in the future. However, if transmission between humans persists, we can consider it a human virus. This represents a paradigm shift, much like we saw with HIV [which was initially zoonotic], said Mitj.
The recent findings have heightened concern about the spread of mpox. The majority of the over 91,000 individuals infected so far are under the age of 50, implying that they have not received the smallpox vaccine (smallpox was eradicated in 1980). There is a potential risk that mpox could fill the void left by its viral relative and spread within an unimmunized population. The situation could become even more dire if the B.1 lineage successfully transmits between humans, as clade I viruses are fatal in 10% of the cases.
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The following is a news release from Idaho Division of Public Health.
Idaho Division of Public Health and Central District Health are announcing the first two reported people diagnosed with mpox in Idaho since last year. Investigation is ongoing, but both persons reported traveling outside the state, which may be related to these diagnoses. Both people diagnosed with mpox are Ada County residents. There is currently no evidence of ongoing transmission of mpox in Idaho.
Mpox, which was previously called monkeypox, is caused by a virus that can spread through prolonged direct contact with someone with mpox or, very rarely, touching things like bedding or towels contaminated with the virus. Infection usually causes a rash that can look like pimples at first and then like blisters. These may be all over the body or just in certain places, such as the face, hands, or feet, as well as on or inside the mouth, genitals, or anus.
Some people can also have flu-like symptoms such as sore throat, runny nose, cough, fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, headache, and tiredness. Someone with mpox might have all or only a few symptoms. A person with mpox can spread it to others from the time symptoms start until the rash has fully healed.
People who have been exposed to someone with mpox should watch for symptoms for 21 days afterward and get vaccinated against mpox as soon as possible (preferably within four days but up to 14 days after exposure) if they are not already vaccinated.
Mpox vaccine (JYNNEOS) can help prevent mpox and may help make symptoms less severe. People should get two doses four weeks apart for the best protection against mpox. People who should not get JYNNEOS are those who have had a severe allergic reaction (such as anaphylaxis) after getting the first dose. During the 2022 mpox outbreak, anaphylactic reactions were reported in about three per million doses administered.
Vaccine may be given in the skin of the forearm, upper back, or shoulder, or under the skin on the back of the arm. Records indicate about one in three Idahoans who had the first dose of JYNNEOS didnt receive a second dose.
Since the first infection in the U.S., we have gained more knowledge and tools we can use to reduce the impact of this virus, said Central District Health Staff Epidemiologist Sarah Wright. One of these is the mpox vaccine, a preventive tool that has been shown to make symptoms milder in people that get mpox. If you are interested in this vaccine, talk to your healthcare provider or a provider at Central District Health.
Nov. 2, 2023 -- Adults over 50 lost brain strength during the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of infection, a new study inThe Lancet says.
Researchers in Great Britain had more than 3,000 people complete annual questionnaires and online cognitive tests that measure memory and other brain functions.
Study researchers created the PROTECT study to learn how brains age and why people develop dementia. They used brain-training games for memory skill and reasoning. The questionnaire examined risk factors.
Results showed a cognitive decline, with stress, loneliness, and alcohol use possibly explaining some findings, theBBC reported.
Memory decline continued in the second year. People who already had memory issues before COVID-19 began had the worst decline.
Coping with Covid fears, worries and uncertainties and disruption to routines may have had a real, lasting impact on brain health, they say, the BBC wrote. The rate of the drop in cognitive function was accelerated during the first year of the pandemic, when lockdowns occurred, the study found.
Social isolation can also have negative effects on brain health, said Susan Mitchell of Alzheimers Research UK.
"Sadly, there's no sure-fire way to prevent dementia yet, but meanwhile, taking care of our brains can at least help stack the odds in our favour, she said. It's never too early or too late to think about adopting healthy habits, which includes looking after your heart health, keeping connected and staying sharp."
(NewsNation) Chicago Police Detective Sergeant Joaquin Mendoza says he knew he wanted to be an officer from the moment one came to speak to his class.
When I got home that day, first thing my mom asks me is, Hey, so what do you want to be when you grow up, for your career? Im like, I want to be a big Irish cop, Det. Sgt. Mendoza told NewsNation. And my mom said, Well, the Irish aint happening, because you know me and your dad, were Mexican. The big, thats probably not going to happen either, because neither one of us are big people. But if you study hard, and you do well in school, and youre a good kid, then maybe youll get the chance to be a police officer. So I lucked out and got my dream job.
Over his 22 years on the police force, he worked on some of the grisliest crimes, helping to solve the murder of Leticia Barrera. The pregnant mother of three was shot and killed in front of her house on Halloween day, while holding her little girls hand.
When we got the convictions, if I only did one thing in my entire life, it was to put this guy in the joint, said Mendoza. The little kids just hugged us and thanked us for getting the bad guy that made my entire career. Getting hugs from that little girl.
When the pandemic hit, the city went on lockdown. First responders pulled long hours to keep the country running, and vaccines were still a long way off.
Yes, everybody was getting sick at the time, said Mendoza. We lost several officers.
At the end of a 17-day stretch and a 16-hour day, he wasnt feeling well. He went home and took a nap.
I thought I only slept a couple hours, he said.
He slept for 48 hours straight. He was rushed to the hospital, where he waged a war with COVID-19 for 72 days. He suffered five strokes, lost function in both kidneys and the use of his left arm.
A bunch of my partners ended up passing away from it. I think I got it pretty bad, but Im lucky Im still here, he said.
Mendozas life was forever changed. He now undergoes dialysis three times a week, and will for the rest of his life. He uses a cane, and his balance and mobility are severely compromised. He suffers from debilitating neurological issues and a shortened life expectancy. He can no longer live independently.
When he went before the Policemens Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago for his act-of-duty disability pension, he was denied, because he couldnt point to a particular act of duty during which he contracted the virus.
This decision came despite the fact that he got sick after working a 17-day stretch during the lockdown, and the only place he went other than work was home, where he lived alone.
The denial meant he would receive 50% of his salary for five years, and importantly, have no health coverage.
Panic, said Mendoza, recalling the denial. All the years that you sacrificed and gave, and the benefits that youve actually earned, are going to be denied. Thats a tough pill to swallow.
He says another Chicago police officer who was denied disability ended his life.
In my mind, I was going through the checklist of whats going to keep me from eating my gun, he said. I knew I had my sister, my mom, my nephew, my immediate family, my partners. Those are the things that kept me from killing myself.
Almost 800 miles away, Officer Omayra Feliciano served with the New York City Police Department for over 17 years.
My father, hes no longer with us, but he loved law enforcement, Feliciano said. I was third year in college, he was going through cancer and it was terminal. And at least before he passed, I was able to tell him, Hey, I got into the academy.
Feliciano served in the Special Victims Unit. During the pandemic, she worked long hours and was tasked with coming face to face with 40 to 50 sex offenders a day, until she fell ill.
I remember very clearly to this day, when I was sick, I was just coughing my lungs up. At the time, it was between day six and seven where people were really taking a turn for the worse and dying. Thats when you were seeing a lot of deaths. And I remember I was approaching that day, I was scared to death. I said, Ill know this weekend, if Im going to die or not.
Feliciano said she got the vaccine within four days of it becoming available to officers, but that she didnt know the virus was likely already in her body. She believed she contracted COVID from another officer who was confirmed to be sick in her unit.
The NYPD Medical Division gave her the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia, which was followed by unrelenting body pain, deep fatigue and the onset of an autoimmune disease.
She says that on some days, I cant get up. I cant get up out of either my couch or my bed. And its an excruciating pain that just doesnt go away. Whatever I do, its an inflammation that is just screaming in your body and you cant do anything about it. The person that I was before is never coming back. I will never be the same Omayra that I used to be.
Just last month, she was similarly denied duty disability.
The ultimate decision was that they said I didnt get COVID at work, she said. I proved everything I needed to prove, I provided everything I needed to provide. And they still said no.
Along with her lawyer, Feliciano is fighting the ruling, hoping to get it in front of a judge.
This should be an embarrassment to the city, its disgusting, said her lawyer, Tim McEnaney. Its a disgusting thing to do to a first responder whos put themselves on the line this way. Its not right. Its not fair. Its one of the reasons the NYPD cant keep their enrollment numbers up.
Feliciano never imagined her time on the force would end this way, but she says she still feels shes carrying on her fathers legacy with the fight ahead.
I know my dad will be very, very proud and happy that I have not quit. He would be extremely happy that I didnt give up on fighting for whats right, she said.
Officer Feliciano already has a victory to look to in Chicago, where Mendozas sister, Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, took up her brothers fight.
To see what hes gone through, a guy who would never take a day off work, seems like hes your Super Man, and then to see the struggles he goes through on a daily basis, its super emotional, its hard, said Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
They initially tried to fight his individual denial of benefits in court, but ultimately helped push through a change to Illinois legislation for all first responders in the state.
We appealed in the courts, like every normal person would do, and were denied for the same exact reason that the board stated, said Comptroller Mendoza. I wasnt going to wait for more appeals and thousands of dollars trying to have the courts do the right thing. So thats when I thought, Im a former legislator, its what Im really good at. Right? I love it. And when you see a problem, you have to fix it. And if no ones going to fix it for me, then Im going to fix it myself and use the power of the office that I have now to draw attention to this injustice.
The new legislation established a presumption: first responders who became disabled from COVID-19 during the pandemic before the availability of vaccines did so in the line of duty.
These are folks that are serving the public in a very, very dangerous position. And so no, they should not have to go out of their way to prove how they got it. If they got it, that is a factually provable thing. And that should be enough, they should have a rebuttable presumption that they contracted COVID while in the performance of an active duty, said Comptroller Mendoza. That is what our legislation changed to be the case now. Now, the board has to prove that that officer did not contract COVID while in the performance of an active duty.
The legislation passed unanimously and with bipartisan support, 54-0. Comptroller Mendoza wonders if it can be a framework for states like New York.
She recalls a conversation she had with her brother on a particularly hard day, after dialysis treatment: My brother said, Why did it have to hit me this hard? And then he said, Maybe it had to be this bad, because no one else has a sister who can change it, who can fix it, who can do something to make sure that it never happens again to any other officer. If it had to happen to me, so that none of my other guys have to go through this, then Id have it happen to me all over again.
Opinion
The absence of national planning for the pandemic and Boris Johnsons shameful leadership are in the spotlight
Lady Hallett has been holding hearings of the UK Covid-19 inquiry for much of the past two months. It is only this week, however, that the hearings have forced their way to the top of the news. There is no mystery about the reason. The evidence to the inquiry by senior civil servants, government advisers and health chiefs this week has been extraordinary and shocking.
For most of us, the shock has been the graphic reminders from those at the heart of government of how poorly the UK state was prepared for the Covid pandemic, of how indecisively the government responded, and of the bitter rivalries between some of those taking life-and-death decisions at the top. Among the multiple serious issues that have been aired in the past four days, two in particular stand out: the absence of any national planning for the pandemic and the inadequacy of Boris Johnsons leadership.
Others, however, are reacting very differently to the inquiry. On the right, indignation is focused on the inquiry itself, not the pandemic incompetence. The proceedings are being mocked as a circus or as a blame-fest. Lady Hallett is derided as presiding over an exercise in confirmation bias and of having no interest in science. Above all, she is accused of not embracing questions that are now dogma in parts of the rightwing press and the Tory party: whether lockdowns worked at all, whether masks did any good and whether testing and tracing was in fact a waste of time and money.
Part of the answer to all this is that the critics should be more patient. This week has focused on a single module in the inquirys programme, devoted to core UK decision-making and political governance. This is just one module among six announced so far others are preparedness, impact on healthcare, vaccines, procurement and the care sector. Other modules will follow. Since this weeks focus is political decision-making, it is hardly surprising that politics was under the microscope. Like all ideologues, the inquirys critics have already made up their minds. Fortunately, the inquiry has not.
The other part of the answer is that this weeks evidence matters. It matters that the prime minister could not make up his mind, was not on top of the detail and that he was on holiday when he should have been gripping the response. It matters that his advisers were constantly abusing one another and that they were mostly white middle-class males, giving little thought to issues of class, gender and ethnicity. It matters that ministers made statements that they must have known were untrue. Together, they let the country down, and with fateful consequences.
Yet a lot of this would have remained hidden if it was not for the inquiry. Because the inquiry has teeth, it has the power to dig deep. Without it, for example, would we have ever known what the former NHS England boss Simon Stevens revealed on Thursday that someone as ill-equipped as the then health secretary Matt Hancock wanted the power to decide which patients should live and which should die if Englands hospitals became overloaded during the pandemic?
It is true that Lady Halletts work is proceeding at a stately pace. Her final report is not expected before 2026. But she is inquiring into the biggest nationwide trauma and the states most significant domestic policy blunder of modern times. When the public needed us most, the government failed, said Dominic Cummings in 2021. It should be this eras epitaph. It is important that Lady Hallett should get the story right, in all its complexity, taking every argument into account and learning every lesson, however embarrassing they may be to those in power who let Britain down so badly.
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Brain health deteriorated more rapidly for people 50 and older during the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the PROTECT study in England suggested.
Across the entire cohort of 3,100 people, both executive function (effect size 0.15) and working memory (effect size 0.51) worsened during the first year of the pandemic, according to Anne Corbett, PhD, of the University of Exeter in England, and colleagues.
These trends were echoed in people with mild cognitive impairment (effect sizes 0.13 and 0.40, respectively) and in people who had COVID-19 (effect sizes 0.24 and 0.46), the researchers reported in Lancet Healthy Longevity.
In the second year of the pandemic, worsening working memory was sustained across the entire cohort (effect size 0.47). Changes were associated with known dementia risk factors, including increased alcohol use and reduced exercise.
"Our findings suggest that lockdowns and other restrictions we experienced during the pandemic have had a real lasting impact on brain health in people aged 50 or over, even after the lockdowns ended," Corbett said in a statement.
"This raises the important question of whether people are at a potentially higher risk of cognitive decline which can lead to dementia," she noted.
"Our findings also highlight the need for policymakers to consider the wider health impacts of restrictions like lockdowns when planning for a future pandemic response," Corbett added.
Despite much progress in understanding the virology, transmission, and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2, the long-term consequences of COVID-19 and pandemic restrictions are largely unknown, observed Dorina Cadar, PhD, of Brighton and Sussex Medical School in Brighton, England, in an accompanying editorial.
"Although initially thought to cause acute respiratory symptoms, the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on other systems -- including the central and peripheral nervous system -- is becoming increasingly clear," Cadar wrote.
Evidence for pandemic-associated effects of isolation, loneliness, post-traumatic stress, depression, fear, anger, and confusion is "overwhelming," she added.
Corbett and colleagues assessed neuropsychology test data from 3,142 participants ages 50 and older in the U.K. PROTECT study. About half of the cohort (54%) were women, mean age was 67.5, and 98% were white. A total of 752 participants had SARS-CoV-2 infection during the course of the study and 147 had mild cognitive impairment.
Data were collected from the same people at three time points: before the pandemic (March 2019 through February 2020), and during its first (March 2020 through February 2021) and second (March 2021 through February 2022) years. Evaluations included logical reasoning and problem-solving tests to assess executive function and three working memory tests. Participants also reported lifestyle factors and underwent depression assessments annually.
Cognitive decline was significantly associated with reduced exercise (P=0.0049 for executive function) and increased alcohol use (P=0.049 for working memory) across the whole cohort. Declines in working memory were linked with depression (P=0.011) in those with a history of COVID-19, and with loneliness (P=0.0038) in those with mild cognitive impairment.
In the second year of the pandemic, reduced exercise continued to be linked with lower executive function across the whole cohort. Relationships were sustained between worsening working memory and reduced exercise, loneliness, and depression in those who had COVID, and increased alcohol use, loneliness, and depression in those with mild cognitive impairment.
"The sustained decline in cognition highlights the need for public health interventions to mitigate the risk of dementia -- particularly in people with mild cognitive impairment, in whom conversion to dementia within 5 years is a substantial risk," Corbett and colleagues noted. "Long-term intervention for people with a history of COVID-19 should be considered to support cognitive health."
The study has limitations, the researchers acknowledged. The PROTECT cohort is self-selected and is biased toward people with higher education levels, they noted. Subgroup analyses were exploratory and the number of people in the mild cognitive impairment group was relatively small. Importantly, causality cannot be assumed, they cautioned, and other confounding factors may have influenced results.
Judy George covers neurology and neuroscience news for MedPage Today, writing about brain aging, Alzheimers, dementia, MS, rare diseases, epilepsy, autism, headache, stroke, Parkinsons, ALS, concussion, CTE, sleep, pain, and more. Follow
Disclosures
This study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Corbett reported relationships with Synexus, reMYND, and Novo Nordisk.
Co-authors reported relationships with Future Cognition, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute on Aging, AB Science, Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Alkahest, Alpha Cognition, ALZpath, Annovis Bio, AriBio, Artery Therapeutics, Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Biogen, Biosplice Therapeutics, Cassava Sciences, Cerevel Therapeutics, Clinilabs, Cortexyme, Diadem Biotherapeutics, EIP Pharma, Eisai, Gatehouse Bio, GemVax & KAEL, Genentech, Green Valley, Grifols, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Karuna Therapeutics, Lexeo Therapeutics, Lilly, Lundbeck, LSP Dementia, Merck, NervGen Pharma, Novo Nordisk, Oligomerix, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Pharmatrophix, PRODEO Institute, Prothena Biosciences, reMYND, Renew Pharmaceuticals, Resverlogix, Roche, Signant, Suven Life Sciences, Unlearn, AI, Vaxxinity, Vigil Neuro, Zai Lab, Synexus, reMYND, Tau Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson, Suven Life Sciences, Sunovion, Exciva, Roche, AbbVie, Orion Pharma, BioExcel, AARP, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Axome Therapeutics.
Cadar reported no relationships with industry.
Primary Source
The Lancet Healthy Longevity
Source Reference: Corbett A, et al "Cognitive decline in older adults in the UK during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of PROTECT study data" Lancet Healthy Longe 2023; DOI: 10.1016/S2666-7568(23)00187-3.
Secondary Source
The Lancet Healthy Longevity
Source Reference: Cadar, D "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cognitive decline" Lancet Healthy Longe 2023; DOI: 10.1016/S2666-7568(23)00216-7.
David Hughes hopes the inquiry will correct the lurch towards a presidential style of government. Plus letters from Peter Slessenger, Michael Lavin, June Findlater and Susan Mahoney
Simon Jenkinss characterisation of the UK Covid-19 inquiry as a pantomime (This pantomime in Paddington is no way to right the wrongs of the Covid pandemic, 2 November) is as offensive as it is misguided. The inquiry seeks to understand and rectify the UKs governmental decision-making process, and this cannot be achieved by a purely scientific analysis, as MrJenkinssuggests.
One of the chief causes of the UKs governmental dysfunction during the pandemic was the use of special advisers, a cohort of political appointees who sidelined both cabinet members and the democratic oversight of parliament. From the beginning of his administration, Boris Johnson viewed himself not as a prime minister in a cabinet with collective responsibility, but as a president, thus possessing dictatorial powers. It was therefore no surprise that he illegally prorogued parliament, purged his party of dissenters and refused to bow to the democratic process of his removal from office.
If the Covid inquiry rectifies this lurch towards a presidential style of administration, by curbing thenumber and powers of politicalappointees, it will have achieved agreat deal. David Hughes Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Simon Jenkins is correct to criticise the Covid inquiry for looking for guilt rather than facts. The adversarial questioning and absence of any scientists on the panel means it is prone to distraction by personalities and discussions by the ministers, special advisers and civil servants.
Asking Dominic Cummings whether he thought he had contributed to the chaos in No 10 was as pointless as asking Boris Johnson whether he ever felt he was out of his depth, or Margaret Thatcher if she ever considered thatshe might be wrong. Peter Slessenger Reading, Berkshire
Simon Jenkins asserts that the aim of the Covid inquiry is to learn any lessons for the future and states that there should be no blame game. This is tantamount to letting the decision-makers off the hook. While its probably too late to rewrite the terms of reference ofthe inquiry, thousands of families who lost loved ones as adirect result of a dysfunctional prime minister and his government will be simply looking for what is sadly missing in Mr Jenkinss piece, namely accountability. Michael Lavin Marcq-en-Barul, France
As someone who lost a relative to Covid in 2020 and who is following the Covid inquiry, I want to know who will be held accountable for the multiple levels of harm done to children, to families, to vulnerable people, to businesses and to livelihoods. I want some faith restored in our democracy and integrity restored. Boris Johnson has no redeemable characteristics let this be the final proof of that, and what helps our society to heal. June Findlater Lanark
I spent a large part of my career investigating claims of harassment and sex discrimination as well as general mismanagement in workplaces. I never found an officewhere there was misogyny but everything else was fine. Iamnot surprised to read that therewas misogyny at No 10 andthat the handling of the Covidcrisis was a nightmare. Susan Mahoney Portland, Maine, US
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