Coxsackie (named after where it was first identified, in Coxsackie, New York) is an enterovirus that belongs to the family of Picornaviruses. These are small positive-strand RNA viruses without a lipid membrane. It falls under the same genera as polio, echovirus, and other enteroviruses. Its transmission is oro-faecal, and its site of primary infection is the gut. Coxsackie A virus is usually associated with fever, surface rashes, and can cause herpangina, as well as hand,

There is increasing coverage of the connection between the nAChRs (nicotinic acetylcholine receptors) and the modulation of Long Covid. Professor Jeanne-Pierre Changeux, Professor of Neuroscience at the Pasteur Institute, who first identified and purified the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, posed the hypothesis soon after the onset of the Pandemic in April 2020 in “A nicotinic hypothesis for Covid-19 with preventive and therapeutic implications” (i). This was followed by further peer-reviewed studies such as “A potential interaction

Since last September, at least five European countries (the UK, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden) have reported a rise in invasive group A streptococcal infections (iGAS). One key factor is likely to be due to increased exposure to strep A infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a drop in immunity. Streptococcus A, otherwise known as Strep A, is a common bacterium found in the throat and on the skin. It can cause several

The mitochondria – the powerhouses of our cells – play a vital role in the pathogenesis of diabetes. In the words of a very recent review, there is now evidence to indicate that diabetes and its complications result at least partially from pathogenic processes at the mitochondrial level.[1] If we can understand what these pathogenic processes are, we have more chance of working out what can be done to correct them. Professor Denis McGarry asked