Glucocorticoid treatment during COVID-19 infection: does it affect the incidence of long COVID?

BACKGROUND: Long COVID (LC) is a frequent complication of COVID infection. It usually results in cognitive impairment, myalgia, headache and fatigue. No effective treatment has been found yet. We aimed to explore the effect of glucocorticoid (GC) treatment during COVID-19 infection on the later development of LC. METHODS: We examined electronic health records from Clalit Health Services for documentation of COVID-19, GC treatment, and LC frequency. Background diagnoses, demographic data, hospitalization rates, and the use of anti-COVID drugs were recorded. RESULTS: 1,322,599 cases of COVID-19 infection met the inclusion criteria; 13,530 patients (1.02%) received GC treatment. 149,272 patients, 11.29% of COVID-19 patients were diagnosed with LC. Age and female gender were prognostic risk factors for LC (OR 1.06 for age, OR 1.4 for female gender; p value < 0.0001). Background psychiatric diagnoses, migraine, backache and irritable bowel syndrome were predisposing conditions for LC (OR 2.7, p value < .0001). Higher BMI was associated with a greater probability of LC (OR of 1.25 for obese population). COVID patients who received GC were diagnosed with LC more frequently: 2294 cases (16.95%) compared to 146,978 cases (11.23%) in the non-GC group; (adjusted OR of 1.28 ± 0.07, 95% CI, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: GC treatment during COVID-19 is correlated with the development of LC. In vivo and animal models may be used to explore the mechanism of this correlation. Future directions include prospective studies as well.

Ethnic Differences in Attending a Tertiary Dementia Clinic in Israel.

Introduction: Variations in lifestyle, socioeconomic status and general health likely account for differences in dementia disparities across racial groups. Our aim was to evaluate the characteristics of Arab (AS) and Jewish (JS) subjects attending a tertiary dementia clinic in Israel. Methods: Retrospective data regarding subjects attending the Cognitive Neurology Institute at Rambam Health Care Campus between April 1, 2010, and April 31, 2016, for complaints of cognitive decline were collected from the institutional registry. AS and consecutive JS, aged ≥50 years without a previous history of structural brain disease, were included. Results: The records of 6,175 visits were found; 3,246 subjects were ≥50 years at the initial visit. One hundred and ninety-nine AS and consecutive JS cases were reviewed. Mean age at first visit was 68.4 ± 8.8 for AS and 74.3 for JS (p < 0.0001). Mean education was 7.7 ± 4.8 years for AS and 11.3 years for JS (p < 0.0001). Mean duration of cognitive complaints prior to first visit did not differ between the groups. Initial complaints of both ethnicities were failing memory (97%) and behavioral changes (59%). Functional impairment was reported by 59% of AS and 45% of JS (p = 0.005). MMSE on first evaluation was 19.2 ± 7 for AS and 23.1 ± 5.9 for JS; p = 0.001. Alzheimer's disease was diagnosed in 32% AS and 23% JS, mild cognitive impairment in 12% AS and 21% JS. Normal cognition was diagnosed in 2% AS and 9% JS; p = 0.0001. Conclusions: Compared to JS, AS attend a tertiary clinic when their cognitive impairment already affects their functional abilities providing a comprehensive benchmark for social health care interventions to reduce disparities.

The effect of TEE on treatment change in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Ischemic stroke is a widespread disease carrying high morbidity and mortality. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is considered an important tool in the work-up of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients; its utility is limited by a semi-invasive nature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the probability of treatment change due to TEE findings (yield) in the work-up of AIS and TIA patients. METHODS: Retrospective data on patients with AIS or TIA who underwent TEE examination between 2000-2013 were collected from the institutional registry. RESULTS: The average age of 1284 patients who were included in the study was 57±10.4, 66% of patients were male. The most frequent TEE findings included aortic plaques in 54% and patent foramen ovale (PFO) in 15%. TEE findings led to treatment change in 135 (10.5%) patients; anticoagulant treatment was initiated in 110 of them (81%). Most common etiology for switch to anticoagulation was aortic plaques (71 patients); PFO was second most common reason (26 patients). Significant TEE findings (thrombus, endocarditis, tumor) were found in 1.9% of patients, they were more common in young patients (<55; 56% of the patients). CONCLUSIONS: The beginning of anticoagulation treatment in patients with thick and complicated plaques was found frequently in our study. Significant TEE findings, were infrequent, constituted an absolute indication for treatment change and were more common in younger patients.

Hyperphosphatemic familial tumoral calcinosis caused by a mutation in GALNT3 in a European kindred.

Hyperphosphatemic familial tumoral calcinosis (HFTC) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder characterized by extensive phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity. HFTC was shown recently to result from mutations in two genes: GALNT3, coding for a glycosyltransferase responsible for initiating O-glycosylation, and FGF23, coding for a potent phosphaturic protein. All GALNT3 mutations reported so far have been identified in patients of either Middle Eastern or African-American extraction, corroborating numerous historical reports of the disorder in Africa and in the Middle East. In the present study, we describe a patient of Northern European origin displaying typical features of HFTC. Mutation analysis revealed that this patient carries a homozygous novel nonsense mutation in GALNT3 predicted to result in the synthesis of a significantly truncated protein. The present results expand the spectrum of known mutations in GALNT3 and demonstrate the existence of HFTC-causing mutations in this gene outside the Middle Eastern and African-American populations.