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While research into the specific cause of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is ongoing, a new case report suggests that it may also appear in adults who have a history of COVID-19 diagnosis or exposure. In a case report involving a 60-year-old Canadian man, doctors suggest that age should not limit the potential diagnosis. The man, whose case was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, sought medical treatment at a hospital for prolonged shortness of breath, high fever, swelling and severe fatigue. His medical history included a positive SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis four weeks prior to the new symptoms, and subsequent testing detected an enlarged heart and lung swelling. He had not received a COVID-19 vaccine and no known comorbidities. (6/21)

Two new real-world studies evaluated the use of intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) therapy plus glucocortioids for treatment of post–COVID-19 multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), one finding a lower risk of new or persistent cardiovascular dysfunction with the combination treatment and the other showing no lessening in disease severity or time to recovery. The studies and a related editorial were published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Van Beusekom, 6/21)

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, one of the stranger symptoms of COVID-19 has been a loss of smell, taste, or both. Now, a study of brain scans of people who have had the disease offers new clues in the mystery. Researchers from Oxford University said they had found that people who had COVID-19 had a “loss of grey matter” in areas of the brain related to smell and taste. A review of hundreds of brain scans revealed “a significant, deleterious impact of COVID-19 on the olfactory and gustatory cortical systems,” the study said. (Finucane, 6/21)

The physical struggle experienced by people who have contracted COVID-19 can often lead to mental health challenges and feelings of guilt similar to those who have survived a traumatic car crash, according to mental health experts. Andrew Schramm, clinical trauma psychologist with the Medical College of Wisconsin, said referral rates for patients who are struggling mentally with trauma went up roughly 70% from 2019 to 2020. “There’s a combination of factors that explain that increase. It’s not due to the virus only,” Schramm said. “This is a time where people are faced with a lot of stress from a lot of different angles.” (Torres, 6/21)

As the number of covid-19 patients in Arkansas hospitals continued to climb Monday, a top public health official said she'd recommend even people who are vaccinated to wear masks in public or when around people whose vaccination status is unknown. "Of course, the more spread there is, the more exposure people who are fully vaccinated get," state Epidemiologist Jennifer Dillaha said. "I'm encouraging people who are fully vaccinated to go ahead and wear a mask when they're out in public or when they're around large groups of people where they don't know who's vaccinated or who's not, because they still could be exposed and develop mild disease." (Davis, 6/22)

Research shows both coronavirus infection and vaccination offers immunity that can protect people from getting sick again. But by how much and for how long remains unclear — a scientific gap that only time could fill. Regardless of how immunity is acquired, there’s no telling whose bodies will or won’t create effective antibodies, and why they last longer for some than others; doctors speculate age or certain medical conditions might play a role. (6/21)

KHN: Is Rand Paul Mixing Up The Vaccine Message For Covid Survivors?

Last week, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) posted a Twitter thread asserting that people who have survived a covid-19 infection were unlikely to be reinfected and have better immunity against variants than those who have been vaccinated against — but not infected by — SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid. The social media communication represented his latest salvo in the ongoing debate over whether natural immunity is equivalent or even better than vaccination. (Knight, 6/22)