Stem Cell Clinic

Top 10 Most Popular Stem Cell Treatments of 2020

Today in 2020, the number of new achievements cropping up each year is nothing short of astonishing. Modern medicines ability to heal previously unhealable parts of the body from brains to hearts to compound fractures and nerve disorders continues to amaze. Now, stem cell treatments are the newest addition to the healing repertoire.

Before diving into a stem cell treatment of any type, its important to note that almost all stem cell treatments remain in the experimental stages. For the small number of stem cell treatments that have been approved by regulatory bodies worldwide, even these treatments require meeting specific criteria before the patient is eligible for the treatment.

Almost without exception, the medical community is both excited and hopeful about the possibilities of stem cell treatment .

Stem cell technology promises to revolutionize the world of medicine and is now available in a number of forms, the top ten of which are listed below. Before we begin, its a good idea to take a closer look at what regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy involve.

Regenerative medicine is a field that would have seemed miraculous only two decades ago, much less two centuries. The basic premise is that, through various treatments, scientists and physicians can help patients who suffer from illness or injury to rebuild the affected parts of their body.

For instance, a patient who suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) could receive the necessary ingredients to rebuild the damaged parts of their brain. A person who was dying of cancer could receive new cells to replace the part of the body that doctors had to excise.

Regenerative medicine uses the bodys own ingredients such as cells, structural tissue, exosomes, or other biomaterials to repair damaged tissues and organs.

Stem cell therapy is one kind of regenerative medicine, and it holds a great deal of promise.

The power of stem cells is that they are a renewable resource. As undifferentiated cells, they can turn into a wide variety of other cell types. Their power varies depending on how specialized they are, to begin with.

Such a wealth of stem cell types, as well as the medical communitys growing ability to access them, has resulted in a powerful new technology for healing illnesses and injuries. Scientists and researchers have almost limitless ideas for the treatment of stem cells, which are currently in various phases of development.

Below are 10 of the most popular stem cell treatments right now. Most have not received FDA approval in the United States, nor approval from other regulatory bodies worldwide.

The patient should use caution with all of these options. No matter which route a patient decides to go, its best to have a knowledgeable physician guiding your decision-making. That way, you can steer clear of any untested, suspect or dangerous treatments.

Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a type of cancer that arises in the lymphatic system, which is responsible for fighting disease and toxins in the body. White blood cells, also known as lymphocytes, give rise to cancer cells, which then pervade the body. Without treatment, the condition is almost universally fatal.

Chemotherapy is an extremely effective tool against this disease. The problem is, high doses of chemotherapy often kill off bone marrow, in which new blood cells get made. In so doing, the chemotherapy kills cancer but also kills the patient, who now has no source of blood cells.

Stem cell treatment, however, helps mitigate this risk substantially bygiving the patient an infusion of new cells following those necessarily high doses of chemotherapy. The patient first receives the chemo, then the stem cell infusion to help them repopulate their blood cell counts. Many patients show great promise of living long and healthy lives following the treatment.

Leukemia is another form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system as well as bone marrow. Leukemia cells are cancerous, affecting the immune system and causing an array of unpleasant symptoms, then eventually leading to death without treatment. It isthe most common childhood cancer, but it affects adults of a range of ages as well.

Stem cell therapy poses significant hope, however. Much like with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, the treatment involves first killing off leukemia cells with high doses of chemotherapy and sometimes radiation as well. After the majority of cancer cells are defeated, the patient receives an infusion of stem cells to help the body repopulate, so that it can make normal blood cells once again.

This treatment, like the one for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, is typically only available to patients who have relapsed. That means their cancer went into remission from standard treatments, then returned months or years later. Good news, though: with a stem cell treatment within the first remission, the survival rate at 5 years is 30-50 percent. If the patient has not experienced a relapse within 2 years of the stem cell transplant, they have a good chance of surviving for many years.

Recent research shows that stroke victims may find hope in stem cell transplants. An astounding study at Stanford Universityalmost completely reversed the devastating effects of a strokeon Sonia Coontz, who suffered the attack on the brain at the young age of 31. After confinement to a wheelchair and speech difficulties for two years, she decided to enroll in a clinical trial, which used stem cells to rebuild centers in her brain.

Within hours of the stem cell treatment, she was able to move her arms and legs whereas before she had suffered almost complete immobilization. She and her doctors also noticed rapid improvements in her speech again, within only a few hours. Other patients noticed astonishing improvements as well, the only side effects coming in the form of passing headaches.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition affecting the joints. Over time, the cartilage that protects joints, preventing the rubbing of one bone on another, breaks down. Eventually, this can lead to the deterioration of the underlying bone as well, causing aching, stiffness, and eventual immobility in many cases. The condition commonly affects the hips, knees, and thumbs, though it can also strike elbows, wrists, ankles, and fingers.

The main issue with this condition is that cartilage is not a self-renewing substance. People are born with only so many cells in their bodies, which means that when those cells die and are carried off to the bodys waste disposal factories, no new cells take their place. Thus, the degeneration of joints and bones.

Thats where stem cells step in. Because they can transform into many different types of specialized cell, stem cells have the ability to become cartilage cells, renewing what was once unrenewable.

The procedure is offered in many clinics within and outside the United States and typically uses adipose cells as the stem cell source. Physicians extract these cells from fat tissue, separate out the stem cells from the rest, then prepare a solution containing growth factors and other ingredients necessary to tell stem cells how to develop in the new site. Once its prepared, doctors inject it into the affected site, such as a knee joint.

Regenexx is a U.S. company specializing in orthopedic applications of stem cells that was founded by Dr. Chris Centeno. Dr. Centeno is an expert in the clinical use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) within orthopedic applications. His Regenexx clinic in Denver, Colorado, draws patients from all over the U.S. who are seeking innovative, non-surgical treatments for osteoarthritis, as well as a wide range of other orthopedic applications.

As the visionary behind the revolutionary Regenexx technology, he pioneered a procedure that involves extracting a small bone marrow sample through a needle and a blood draw from a vein in your arm. These samples are then processed in a laboratory and the stem cells it contains are injected into the area needing repair. The goal is to deliver large numbers of stem cells to the injured area.

Like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis affects joints. However, unlike osteoarthritis, which is a degenerative condition, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition, in which the body attacks its own systems, causing destruction, limited function, and pain.

That means the mechanism for treatment is slightly different, with stem cell therapy potentially targeting the immune system rather than the joints themselves. That said, stem cell treatment of the joints can have the same positive effects as in osteoarthritis, and theres no reason for patients not to try.

Clinical trials conducted in the last decade have not yet yielded conclusive results as to the efficacy of this treatment, but more trials crop up all the time, giving patients who struggle with severe pain and loss of mobility hope that they do may enroll in trials at home in the US or abroad. Examplestudies in Belgium have started, whilesome in the United States have wrapped up, with the scientific community awaiting information.

Rheumatoid arthritis isnt the only autoimmune disease, of course. A huge range of autoimmune conditions exists, such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, Addisons disease, Graves disease, and more.

These conditions all share the characteristic of the bodys immune system reacting to normal substances in the body as though they were pathogenic. That means instead of letting the body function normally, the immune system will attack tissues and substances, creating ongoing sickness and in many cases, eventually death.

Stem cell therapy has two possible benefits in the case of autoimmune diseases. For one thing, it can help repair and regenerative tissues damaged in an autoimmune attack. Stem cells can help them repair nerves, skin, blood, organs, and more. This helps the patient regain their health and fight the degenerative nature of such diseases.

Second, stem cells can actually modulate the immune system so that it no longer attacks the body so viciously or at all. Research demonstrates thatstem cells can minimize the pathological effects of the immune system, making it so the body no longer attacks itself all while preserving its ability to attack foreign substances and real pathogens.

One of the most traumatic injuries to the human body is blunt for trauma to or severing of the spinal cord. Depending on where the injury occurs, the patient may never walk or even move their arms again. For most of human history, such a traumatic injury was completely irreparable. In recent years, neurosurgery has given people back some of their function in cases like these, but outcomes are still all too often disappointing.

Stem cells provide serious hope for the future. Instead of trying to repair damaged nerves, stem cells offer the ability to replace them. By injecting stem cells to the site of the injury, the spinal column can repair itself, accessing all the ingredients it needs for the specialized job.

In combination with growth factors and hormones, stem cells are capable of traveling to the site of the injury assessing what needs rebuilding and stepping in to do the job for doctors. This limits the number of modifications needed from the outside and leaves the healing to the body.

While the mechanisms arent yet clear, it seems that hormones such as growth factors in addition to the location in the body can provide signposts to stem cells telling them what kinds of tissues are needed. Then the stem cells transform into them, integrate with the damaged tissue and repair it.

While balding is far from life and death, many people care about their hair a great deal. Luckily, stem cells are paving the way for all-natural hair regrowth.

The simple outpatient treatment may actually provide the de-balding effects for which men and women have searched for decades (scratch that: centuries). Heres how it often works: The patient goes into a clinic. The specialist removes follicles from their scalp, separates out the stem cells, and injects those follicles along with stem cells back into the scalp.

Recent research in Italyhas developed one mechanism of doing so, while multiple clinics across the United States, Europe, and other locations worldwide offer modified versions of the treatment. The essence of the therapy involves encouraging formerly hairless or balding sections of the scalp to grow by offering the nutrients needed to regenerate hair and a follicle needed to produce one in the first place.

A leading company working on a treatment for hair loss is Replicel. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, the company is developing an autologous cell therapy utilizing dermal sheath cup (DSC) cellsto treat androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness). The product that Replicel is developing is called RCH-01. It is poised to begin a Phase 2 trial that will enroll 160 male subjects.

In the trial, dermal sheath cup (DSC) cells will be isolated from a biopsy taken from the back of the patients head. Afterward, the cells will be multiplied in the lab and injected into balding areas on the patients scalp.

Before embarking on a hair treatment plan, be sure to research the clinic. Although stem cell treatments for hair loss are certainly available, they are not approved by the FDA and are at this point considered uniformly investigational. That means patients shouldnt conclude theyre safe based on a few website testimonials. Do the research and, as always, speak with a physician before signing on the dotted line.

Heart disease is still theNo. 1 killer in the United States(although by some estimates cancer will soon or has already surpassed it). For obvious reasons, stem cells seem like a strong possibility for repairing heart tissue and helping to overcome the intermediate symptoms that eventually lead to heart disease or cardiac arrest.

As is the case with most of these therapies, the biggest benefit of stem cell treatment for heart disease is its ability to replace damaged or dead cellswithoutthe need for invasive surgery or transplants. An injection of stem cells can give the body the ingredients it needs to grow the specialized cells on site, ideally without having to put the patient under or open them up. The exact mechanisms of this procedure are not as yet clear, however.

On 16 May, 2018, Nature News reported that Japans health ministry gave doctors at Osaka University permission to take sheets of tissue derived from stem cells and use them to treat diseased human hearts. From preclinical studies in pigs, it appears that thin sheets of cell grafts grown from induced pluripotent stem cells can improve heart function. While the treatment approved by Japans health ministry will only be tested in three patients, a follow-up trial could enroll ten or more patients.

Stem cell therapy for heart disease is currently limited to clinical trials.

Many people are very interested in the possibility of stem cells to treat diabetes. BothType IandType IIdiabetes have devastating effects on the health of millions, and stem cells may help to ameliorate those conditions.

Type I and Type II diabetes affect the body in different ways. Type I diabetes is genetic, and results from the pancreas failing to produce insulin, or producing too little of it. Insulin is what tells the body to remove glucose from the bloodstream and let it into cells, so they can use it for energy. Most likely this is due to an immune system disorder in which the body attacks its own islets, the pancreatic cells responsible for manufacturing insulin. In this case, stem cells may provide the same immune system-modulating effect as they do for other autoimmune diseases.

Type II diabetes is when the body becomes resistant to insulin. The pancreas may still make it, but the patients body does not sense it it is insulin resistant, which means the release of insulin in the bloodstream still does not result in cells taking up glucose. It remains in the bloodstream, causing dangerous hyperglycemia just as it does in the case of Type I.

The second condition may also respond to stem cell treatment, which can help moderate pancreatic productive of insulin as well as helping the body respond to it more effectively. Multiple clinical trials assessing the validity of stem cells for both diseases are underway, and many eagerly await their results.

There exist two possible sources of stem cells: autologous and allogeneic. Both provide benefits and drawbacks.

Autologous stem cells are those that come from the patients own body. Physicians can source them anywhere, from blood or other tissues, but they still count as autologous so long as the patient themselves is the source and recipient of the stem cells. Allogeneic stem cells, on the other hand, come from donors usually family members, but sometimes anonymous donors who have given their stem cells to a bank.

Autologous stem cells are ideal since the body already knows the cells and doesnt consider them invaders, as is often the case with donor cells. There is a very little risk, therefore, of the patient rejecting the stem cell infusion (except in rare cases where the patient has an allergic reaction to a preservative or other agent used in preparation). There is also no risk ofgraft-versus-host disease, a condition in which the donor cells from another individual see the patients body as an invader to the donors immune system, and will, therefore, attack it.

So why doesnt every stem cell patient use autologous cells, then? Usually, its due to the danger that the patients own cells will re-infect them with a disease. For instance, in the case of leukemia or lymphoma, the patient needs cells other than their own to ensure no reintroduction of cancer cells. Thats why donor cells are critical but again, they do bring risks.

Overall, the decision is a very personal one that patients should discuss with their managing physicians before taking action. Note that in cases where allogeneic cells are needed, it can take a long time to find the right donor, so its best to start as soon as possible.

Not all treatments are equally available to patients, nor will they necessarily provide the same results across the board. Whether or not a certain therapy is right for a patient depends on many factors, including:

among other factors.

The best approach in cases where the studies have unclear results and the patient isnt sure where to turn is to speak with a physician. They will have much better guidance to offer than one can find online, and can help prepare the documentation needed to enroll.

Patients and loved ones can also speak with clinics, who often provide stem cell treatments of the types discussed above, with patients reporting significant positive results. Beware, though, that terms like human trials and human studies get tossed around rather loosely these days. Technically,a clinical trial must follow an array of very specific guidelines to constitute a valid form of medical research. It is a time-consuming process to start and fund a clinical trial, so before enrolling, always do due diligence.

If you are seeking a stem cell treatment, werecommend GIOSTAR to help you access medical guidance and advice. In alignment with what we believe at BioInformant, GIOSTARs goal is to offer extensively researched stem cell therapy options designed to improve a patients quality of life.

Click here to Schedule a Consultation or ask GIOSTAR a question.

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Top 10 Most Popular Stem Cell Treatments of 2020

Coronavirus updates: California to release 8,000 inmates; masks ‘only way’ to prevent another shutdown, Texas Gov. says – Times Record News

Jessica Flores, Ryan W. Miller and Grace Hauck, USA TODAY Published 5:45 a.m. CT July 10, 2020 | Updated 12:59 a.m. CT July 11, 2020

If you thought COVID-19 symptoms couldn't get worse, doctors say a new symptom has emerged. Hallucinations. USA TODAY

A spiking COVID-19 case countis straining Florida's hospital system as nearly half of its intensive care units are at least 90% full.

Mississippi has also seen a recent strain on its hospitals. Five of the largest medical centers have no ICU bed space for new patients COVID-19 or otherwise and are being forced to turn patients away.

Meanwhile, some states are scaling back reopening guidelines or adding new requirements: Some bars in Nevada will be closing again Friday and restaurants can no longer serve parties more than six people.Kentucky will join the growing list of states that require face coverings in public, too.

In New Mexico, indoor dining at restaurants and breweries will be restricted again starting Monday, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham halted high school sports and said state parks will be closed to out-of-state residents.

Here are some recent developments:

Today's stats:The U.S. has surpassed 3.18 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. More than134,000deaths have been confirmed, according toJohn Hopkins University data. Globally, there have been just shy of12.5million cases and over 560,000deaths.

What we're reading:ThreeArizona teachers shared a classroom for summer school.They thought they were being "very careful."All threecontracted COVID-19, and one died.The teachers who survived say their colleague's death is a stark reminder of the risks teachers will face if school reopens too soon.

Our live blog will be updated throughout the day. For first-in-the-morning updates,sign upfor The Daily Briefing.

R-0 may be the most important scientific term youve never heard of when it comes to stopping the coronavirus pandemic. USA TODAY

Travis Hamonic of the Calgary Flames is the first NHL player to opt out of the NHL's restart.

Hamonic, a 29-year-old defenseman in his 10th NHL season, cited his young daughter's battle with a respiratory illness in 2019 as being a key factor in his decision.

"Like every parent, everything we do is to provide and protect our kids and try to take away any suffering they may endure," Hamonicwrote in a statement explaining his decision posted by Titan Sports Management.

Said the Flames, who first announced Hamonic's decision:"While we will miss Travis in our line-up, we understand and respect his decision."

The NHL and NHLPA finalized the return-to-play plan Friday. Players have until Monday to opt out, which is also when training camps are set to open.

Jace Evans

The Pac-12 will use a conference-only playing schedule for all fall sports should teams be able to compete in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, a personwith direct knowledge of the league's decision told USA TODAY Sports on Friday.

The person requested anonymity because the league had not made an announcement.

In doing so, thePac-12 joins the Big Ten in becoming the second Power Five conference to make a decisionthat could foreshadow similar changes across the entire Bowl Subdivision.

Paul Myerberg

Schools should prioritize safety and rely on local authorities inschool reopening plans, ajoint statementfrom associations of pediatricians, educators and superintendents says.

"Returning to school is important for the healthy development and well-being of children, but we must pursue re-opening in a way that is safe," says the statement from The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Federation of Teachers, the National Education AssociationandThe School Superintendents Association. "Science should drive decision-making on safely reopening schools."

The statement follows a push fromTrump to open schools across the nation andamid a nationwide debate over whether children should return to the classroom.

In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Californiastate prisons, upto 8,000 currently incarcerated people could be released by the end of August, the state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Friday.

"Too many people are incarcerated for too long in facilities that spread poor health. Supporting the health and safety of all Californians means releasing people unnecessarily incarcerated and transforming our justice system,"Jay Jordan, Executive Director ofCalifornians for Safety and Justice, said in a press release.

Since the start of the pandemic, the state has releasedabout 10,000 people, according to the state'sDepartment of Corrections.

Activists have repeatedly called on the governor to address the outbreak atSan Quentin prison, where more than 200 staff and more than 1,300 prisoners have active cases, and at least six inmates have died, according to local news reports.

Amid a resurgence of COVID-19 in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday that the state will reactivate its makeshift coronavirus hospital at a convention center in Atlanta.

The 200-bed temporary hospital at theGeorgia World Congress Centerwas constructed in April but wound down operations at the end of May.

Nearly 3,000 people have died and more than 111,000 people have tested positive for the virus in the state.

At least 47 students at UC Berkeley tested positive for the coronavirus in just one week, and most of the new cases stem from a series of Greek life parties, university officials said.

In a message to the campus community, UniversityHealth Services Medical Director Anna Harte and Assistant Vice Chancellor Guy Nicolette said it was "becoming harder to imagine bringing our campus community back in the way we are envisioning."

"Generally, these infections are directly related to social events where students have not followed basic safety measures such as physical distancing, wearing face coverings, limiting event size, and gathering outside," the officials wrote.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott begged Texans to mask up in a Friday interview with eastern Texas TV station CBS19, saying face coverings were "the only way"businesses could stay open.

"Its disappointing"that some local officials are refusing to enforce the states mask order, Abbott said. "If we do not all join together and unite in this one cause for a short period of time it will lead to the necessity of having to close Texas back down."

Abbott's ordereffective July 3 requires face masksin public spaces in counties with 20 or more active COVID-19 cases.The order does not apply to people eating,drinking, swimming orexercising or those under 10 years old.

Joel Shannon

West Virginia is among states with the fewest COVID-19 cases, but the state now has the highest coronavirus transmission rate in the country, the head of the state's coronavirus response said Friday.

"The virus is spreading faster person to person in West Virginia right now than in any other state in the country,"Dr. Clay Marsh.The state's "RT value" the average number of people who become infected by an infectious personis the highest in the nation, at 1.37, Marsh said. "We can see that COVID is starting in that logarithmic phase, that compounding phase."

The state has doubled its number of active cases in the last 10-14 days.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday expanded Michigan's mask-wearing requirements, effective Monday, saying that wearing masks is the best way to reverse an increase in coronavirus cases.

The order requires the use of face coverings in crowded outdoor spaces and reiterates that individuals are required to wear a face covering whenever they are in an indoor public space. The mandate also requires any business that is open to the public to refuse entry or service to people who refuse to wear a face covering, with limited exceptions.

Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press

Shutting down states in the early days of the US COVID-19 outbreak prevented at least 250,000 deaths and as many as 750,000-840,000 hospitalizations, a new study found. Shelter-in-place orders took about two weeks to show an effect on hospitalizations and three weeks to limit the number of deaths, according to the study by researchers at the University of Iowa and National Bureau of Economic Research.

The authors, who published their results in the journal Health Affairs, also found that deaths from causes other than COVID-19 might have increased if hospitals had become overwhelmed; slowing cases saved those lives, as well, they said.

"These estimates indicate that [stay in place orders] played a key role in flattening the curves not only for cases, but also for deaths and hospitalizations, and eased pressure on hospitals from avoided COVID-19 admissions," the authors conclude.

Karen Weintraub

All 50 states had visitors from Floridathis week, according to data that 15 million U.S. mobile device users provided to the data company Cuebiq. Applying Cuebiqs sample to the whole population, approximately 1.5 million Floridians are now setting up shop in other states.

Residents have left the state in increasing numbers at a time when the crisis there got worse. In early June, just 5% of the states residents appeared in other states. That number has ticked up every week.

Cuebiqs data, which is based on cell phone locations, shows that most interstate visitors from Florida appeared in other parts of the South. About 38% of the states travelers were in Georgia at least once during the week, for example. Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee also topped the list of destinations for visitors from the hard-struck state.

States outside the region saw big Florida influxes as well. New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio all had more than 50,000 visits from Florida residents in the most recent week of data, based on an extrapolation of the cell phone location data.

Matt Wynn

New data on the experimental drug remdesivir confirms it can shorten the course of COVID-19 infections and suggests it also can save lives.

Gilead Sciences, Inc., a California pharmaceutical company that makes the drug, revealed data Friday about nearly 400 patients in its late-stage clinical trial.

According to the results, 74% of patients treated with remdesivir had recovered by their 14th day of hospitalization, compared to 59% of those who did not get the drug. Nearly 8% of the patients on remdesivir had died by day 14, versus more than 12% of patients who did not receive it.

The study also found patients who took the drug hydroxychloroquine along with remdesivir fared worse than those on remdesivir alone. The company recommended against using the drugs in combination.

Remdesivir, an antiviral initially developed to treat Ebola, has not yet been approved for widespread use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but it has been given emergency use authorization to treat COVID-19 patients.

Karen Weintraub

Congestion, runny nose, nausea and diarrhea are the four most recent COVID-19 symptoms that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added to its growing list of potential signs of the novel coronavirus.

The CDC previously said symptoms include chills, fever, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and a new loss of taste or smell. The agency now lists 11 symptoms on its website.

The additions come as health experts continue to learn more about the disease, and care for very ill COVID-19 patients is improving. Even so, the CDC states the current list doesn't include all possible symptoms for the virus.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips

Fifty-eight Major League Baseball players tested positive for the coronavirus upon reporting to their team, while an additional 13 tested positive after workouts began, according to data released by MLB on Friday.

Perhaps most disconcerting is that 10 teams reported positive test results during what MLB is calling "monitoring testing," meaning one-third of the league's teams had an infected player or staff member after workouts began last week.

Several teams have had workouts halted or curtailed while awaiting test results, and besides those testing positive, players who have come in contact with those testing positive have been temporarily sidelined, as well.

Gabe Lacques

As COVID-19 cases spikeacross, multiple states have taken measures to scale back their reopening plans. Here are some of the last moves:

Read more about states that arepause reopening or take new steps to slow the spread.

A Los Angeles Times report says that researchers are working on an upper-arm injection that would deliverantibody-rich blood plasma of COVID-19 survivors to provide potentially months of protection from the virus.

The approach is similar to one used for other diseases likehepatitis A and could be widely available across the United States, the Times reported.

However, the proposal has received push back from the federal government and pharmaceutical companies, who argue efforts in plasma-based therapy should focus on treating sick people rather than preventing infection, the Times report says.

Dr. Anthony Fauci told the newspaper that the research was promising but more work is needed to show thatcoronavirus antibodies work.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said Friday he has not briefed President Donald Trump in at least two months and not seen him in person at the White House since June 2, despite a coronavirus resurgence that has strained hospitals and led several states to pause reopenings.

Fauci told the Financial Times he was "sure" his messages were sent to the president even though the two have not been in close contact in the past several weeks.

The comments from the Trump administration's director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases came as Trump has been critical of Fauci and spoken openly about issues on which they disagree.

In a Thursday interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump said Fauci had "made a lot of mistakes" but called him a "nice man." Trump also said "most cases" of coronavirus would "automatically cure. They automatically get better."

Fauci also in the FT interview said Trump was incorrect in claiming 99% of coronavirus cases were "harmless" and may have conflated some statistics.

Nicholas Wu

COVID survivors' main symptoms can linger for weeks or even months, causing pain, trouble breathing, nightmares and even organ failure. USA TODAY

Two scientists from the World Health Organization are traveling toBeijing on Friday to lay the groundwork for an investigation into the origins of the new coronavirus.

The researchers,an animal health expert and an epidemiologist, will work with counterparts in China to "look at whether or not it jumped from species to humanand what species it jumped from," WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said.

The team will determine the logistics, locations and participantsfor a WHO-led international mission.

The virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. Scientists believe the novel virusoriginated in bats, transferred to another mammal then jumpedto humans.

The Trump administration this week officially began withdrawing the United Statesfrom the WHO, of which President Donald Trump and his advisers have been sharply critical.

Americans are three times as likely to know someone in their community who has been sick with the coronavirus than they did in March, according to a new survey.

More than one-third of Americans (36%) say someone they know outside of their immediate family or work has been sick with the coronavirus, according to a new survey from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project. That number is more than triple the number in mid-March, when it was 11%.

The survey also showed Black (11%) and Latino (11%) Americans are more likely than white Americans (7%) to have had an immediate family member get sick, according to the survey. These racial differences were not apparent in the survey from March.

Rebecca Morin

Nearly half of Florida's intensive-care units are at least 90% full, and more than 1 in 5 are completely full, according to state data.

Hospitals are increasingly strained under COVID-19, andhospitalizations across the state have jumped more than 13% just since July 1. More than 17,100 Floridians have been hospitalized for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

A total of 95 hospital ICUs were at least 90% full Thursday, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. That's nearly half the 207 ICUs that the agency is tracking. At least 45 hospital ICUs were at capacity, and 46 others had only one bed available in the units.

At least 4,111 people in Florida have died from the virus, according to the state a figure that would have made it the ninth leading cause of death in Florida last year, according to Florida Department of Health statistics. Florida set a one-day record Thursday with 120 deaths. The previous high, 83, was in late April.

Frank Gluck, Fort Myers News-Press

The five largest medical centers in Mississippi have no ICU bed space for new patients coronavirus or otherwise and are being forced to turn patients away, even as COVID-19 continue to surge.

In some cases, patients are being sent to facilities out of state and as far away as New Orleans. In many hospitals, patients admitted to the ER are being forced to spend the night before they receive treatment.

"(Wednesday), five of our biggest hospitals in the state had zero ICU beds. Zero," State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said. "Our biggest medical institutions who take care of our sickest patients have no room."

The transition from shelter-in-place to where we currently stand, with the highest number of hospitalizations since the first reported case of the coronavirus virus on March 11, has left the state "wide open," said Dr. Louann Woodward, UMMC vice chancellor for health affairs.

Justin Vicory, Mississippi Clarion Ledger

California is set to become the first state to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over anew policy that prevents international students from staying in the U.S. if their college or university switches to online-only classes in the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Coronavirus updates: California to release 8,000 inmates; masks 'only way' to prevent another shutdown, Texas Gov. says - Times Record News