Natural products for the treatment of chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment and prospects of nose-to-brain drug delivery.

Chemotherapy-related cognitive deficits (CRCI) as one of the common adverse drug reactions during chemotherapy that manifest as memory, attention, and executive function impairments. However, there are still no effective pharmacological therapies for the treatment of CRCI. Natural compounds have always inspired drug development and numerous natural products have shown potential therapeutic effects on CRCI. Nevertheless, improving the brain targeting of natural compounds in the treatment of CRCI is still a problem to be overcome at present and in the future. Accumulated evidence shows that nose-to-brain drug delivery may be an excellent carrier for natural compounds. Therefore, we reviewed natural products with potential anti-CRCI, focusing on the signaling pathway of these drugs' anti-CRCI effects, as well as the possibility and prospect of treating CRCI with natural compounds based on nose-to-brain drug delivery in the future. In conclusion, this review provides new insights to further explore natural products in the treatment of CRCI.

Clinical features of omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants infection associated with co-infection and ICU-acquired infection in ICU patients.

Background: Although the decreasing rate of hospital admission in the omicron wave has led countries to loosen control, still the patients requires ICU admission. It is common for viral respiratory infections to be co-infected with bacteria. However, the difference between co-infection and ICU-acquired infection on their clinical characteristics and outcomes during the Omicron wave was little reported. Methods: Clinical and microbiological data were collected from ICU patients with omicron infection between April 1st, 2022, and May 31th, 2022 and a comprehensive comparative study of the clinical characteristics and endpoint were conducted. Results: The Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants-infected patients requiring intensive care had high rates of co-infection (42.55%). Additionally, the ICU COVID-19 patients with co-infection showed more severe clinical features compared to those with ICU-acquired infection. Furthermore, Multivariate Cox analysis demonstrated that co-infection (hazard ratio: 4.670, p = 0.018) was a significant risk factor for poor outcomes in ICU patients with COVID-19. Besides, Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis revealed that COVID-19 patients with co-infection had a significantly shorter 28-Day survival time compared to those with ICU-acquired infection (p < 0.001). Finally, our investigation identified a significant association between the presence of Candida app. in the broncho-alveolar lavage and an elevated risk of mortality (OR: 13.80, p = 0.002) and invasive ventilation (OR: 5.63, p = 0.01). Conclusion: Co-infection is prevalent among patients requiring intensive care and is linked to unfavorable outcomes in the Omicron wave. Consequently, more attention may be needed for the empirical antibacterial treatment in ICU patients within the COVID-19 Omicron variant, especially anti-fungi.