The effects of Alpha-2a and Beta-1a Interferons on the Coronavirus disease 2019 prognosis.

BACKGROUND: The pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with substantial mortality worldwide. Efforts have continued to find an effective treatment for COVID-19. In vitro activity of interferon (IFN) subtypes has been shown against the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Furthermore, the superiority of IFN-ß over IFN-α2b and IFN-α2a has been demonstrated in MERS treatment. Early studies showed a low plasma level of IFNs in the peripheral blood or lungs of patients with severe COVID-19. This study assessed the effects of IFN-alpha-2a and -beta-1a on the prognosis of patients with covid-19 infection. METHODS: We conducted a triple-blind randomized clinical trial on adult patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 from April 2021 to June 2021. The patients were diagnosed based on clinical and laboratory findings and randomly assigned into four groups (A, B, C, and D) using the envelope allocation method. Patients in group A received IFN ß-1a; group B received IFN ß-1a placebo; group C received IFN α-2a, and group D was treated with IFN α-2a placebo. All patients concomitantly received the national protocol medications as well. RESULTS: A total of 95 eligible patients were randomly assigned into groups. National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) index showed significant differences between groups only on the first day of admission (p-value = 0.001). CT scan scores on the first and tenth days slightly improved, although they were not statistically significant. Duration of hospitalization and hospital discharge did not significantly differ among all treated groups (Table 1). Mortality rates showed no significant statistical difference between the groups. However, viral clearance significantly accelerated in the patients receiving IFN ß-1a or IFN α-2a (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: It seems that IFN α-2a and IFN ß-1a are ineffective in treating COVID-19 patients. Further randomized clinical trials with large sample sizes are needed to estimate the effects of IFN α-2a or IFN ß-1a on the outcomes of COVID-19 disease.

COVID-19 Death Rates in Iran and Iraq: Possible Relations Between Iraq's Pre-COVID-19 Mass Gatherings and Its Low Death Rate.

In recent years, COVD-19 has made millions of death worldwide. When reviewing the death rate, we encountered a very notable difference in death rate of Iran and Iraq, which are two neighboring countries. Investigating the COVID-19 risk factors, parameters, such as ethnicity and vaccination, do not appear not to be affecting our observation. We also could not find important differences in mortality rate being under-reported in the two countries. In this letter, we tried to discuss the possible effect of Iraq pre-COVID-19 mass gatherings on the death rate. The authors would like to highlight the effect of immune system on COVID-19.

Prevalence of elimination disorders and comorbid psychiatric disorders in Iranian children and adolescents.

PURPOSE: Currently, there is a paucity of studies on the prevalence of Elimination Disorders among Iranian children and adolescents. Due to the ongoing need to monitor the health status of these children and adolescents, the present study aims to investigate the prevalence of Elimination Disorders and comorbid disorders in Iranian children and adolescents. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 29,781 children and adolescents age 6 to 18 years old were selected and studied from all the provinces in Iran. The sampling was carried out by employing a multistage cluster sampling method, and several clinical psychologists using semi-structured interviews collected the data. Furthermore, clinical psychologists collected demographic information (including information about gender, age, place of residence, education level, and parental education level). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: Generally, the prevalence of Elimination Disorders was found to be 5.4% covering both enuresis (p= 5.4, 95% CI = 5.1-5.7) and encopresis (p= 0.13, 95% CI = 0.09-0.2). The total prevalence of comorbid disorders was 38%, and among the comorbid disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (p= 11, 95% CI = 9.5-12.7) and Separation Anxiety (p= 10.6, 95% CI = 9.1-12.2) were the most prevalent. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of Elimination Disorders in Iranian children and adolescents is moderate compared to similar studies elsewhere. As for comorbid disorders, ADHD and Separation Anxiety were found to be the most prevalent disorders. Since Elimination Disorders coexist with psychiatric disorders in children, further studies of these comorbidities may give better insight into the treatment and prognosis of Elimination Disorders.

Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Antioxidant Activity of Cleome coluteoides: An In Vitro Comparative Study Between Leaves, Stems, and Flowers.

OBJECTIVES: Cleome coluteoides, which belongs to the Capparidaceae family, and has been used in folk medicine for a long time. Our research aims to measure the antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities of C. coluteoides. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Various solvents, such as ethyl acetate, methanol, and dichloromethane, were used to extract different plant parts. Antibacterial and antifungal activities were assayed by disk and well diffusion methods, and the antioxidant activity was screened by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing ability of plasma methods. RESULTS: Results showed that Gram-negative bacteria and fungus were resistant to various plant extracts. Against all Gram-positive bacteria tested, C. coluteoides' flower extract had the highest inhibition effects. Also, the most sensitive bacterium was Bacillus cereus, which had an 18-mm inhibition zone. Due to the solvent's physical and chemical properties, different C. coluteoides extracts exhibited various antioxidant activities in the antioxidant activity assay. To some extent, methanol extract of leaves showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity at various concentrations that ranged from 5 to 160 mg.mL-1. The methanol extract of flower was observed to have the highest level of phenolics among all tested extracts. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that different extracts from various C. coluteoides parts are different in their properties, therefore, a proper solvent should be used to extract maximum amounts of antioxidant and antibacterial components from a typical plant material.

Novel insights into the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection: An overview of current clinical trials.

The emergence of the global pandemic caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus has motivated scientists to find a definitive treatment or a vaccine against it in the shortest possible time. Current efforts towards this goal remain fruitless without a full understanding of the behavior of the virus and its adaptor proteins. This review provides an overview of the biological properties, functional mechanisms, and molecular components of SARS-CoV-2, along with investigational therapeutic and preventive approaches for this virus. Since the proteolytic cleavage of the S protein is critical for virus penetration into cells, a set of drugs, such as chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, camostat mesylate have been tested in clinical trials to suppress this event. In addition to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, the role of CD147 in the viral entrance has also been proposed. Mepolizumab has shown to be effective in blocking the virus's cellular entrance. Antiviral drugs, such as remdesivir, ritonavir, oseltamivir, darunavir, lopinavir, zanamivir, peramivir, and oseltamivir, have also been tested as treatments for COVID-19. Regarding preventive vaccines, the whole virus, vectors, nucleic acids, and structural subunits have been suggested for vaccine development. Mesenchymal stem cells and natural killer cells could also be used against SARS-CoV-2. All the above-mentioned strategies, as well as the role of nanomedicine for the diagnosis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection, have been discussed in this review.

Tongluojiunao, a traditional Chinese medication with neuroprotective ability: A review of the cellular, molecular and physiological mediators of TLJN's effectiveness.

The pressing need to discover more effective drugs for various CNS disorders has resurrected the idea of investigating the effectiveness of traditional medicines in modern science. Tongluojiunao (TLJN) is an example of revived modern herbal preparation based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with a long history of administration for various types of cerebrovascular injuries and neurodegenerative diseases. TLJN is prepared from the herbal roots of Panax notoginseng (Sanchi) and dried fruits of Gardenia jasminoides (Cape Jasmine), and so far, it has demonstrated promising results in patients with vascular dementia and cerebral ischemic stroke. TLJN has also demonstrated therapeutic ability regarding the slowly-progressed neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease. So it tempted us to undertake a thorough review of various features of TLJN therapeutic effects on the mentioned CNS conditions, including the cellular and molecular targets, inflammatory responses, neurogenesis and angiogenesis mediators and cognitive function. For this purpose, multiple global and local databases, including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were checked out and the retrieved information was grouped according to their scope of studies. Among these, TLJN is reported to restore the deregulated cell-cell communication in the neurovascular unit, prevent the stress-related challenges imposed by ischemia/reperfusion insult, help with the cerebral tissue recovery after traumatic brain damage, avoid the epileptic seizure attack and limit the progression of Alzheimer's disease. We hope that the current review provides new insights into TLJN medication as a prospective neuroprotective medication for further more in-depth investigation in the future.

Cytotoxic activity of the genus Ferula (Apiaceae) and its bioactive constituents.

OBJECTIVE: The genus Ferula L. includes perennial flowering plants belonging to the Apiaceae family. This genus is a rich source of biologically active phytochemicals such as sulfur-containing derivatives, coumarins, sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpene lactones, sesquiterpene coumarins, glucuronic acid, galactose, arabinose, rhamnose, and daucane esters. Over the last decade, considerable attention has been paid to biological activities of these compounds; it is assumed that the most prominent biological features of the genus Ferula are their cytotoxic effects. This article discusses cytotoxic activity of the genus Ferula and their important compounds. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this mini-review article, papers published from 1990 to April 2016 were included and the following information was discussed; cytotoxic activity of the genus Ferula and their important compounds, the type of cell line used in vitro, concentrations of the extracts/active compound that were used, and the underlying mechanisms of action through which Ferula-related chemicals induced cytotoxicity. In addition, we explained different mechanisms of action through which the active constituents isolated from Ferula, could decrease cellular growth. CONCLUSION: It is highly recommended that potent and effective compounds that were isolated from Ferula plants and found to be appropriate as adjuvant therapy for certain diseases, should be identified. Also, the versatile biological activities of sesquiterpene coumarins suggest them as promising agents with a broad range of biological applications to be used in the future.

Congenital Tuberculosis: A Newborn Case Report With Rare Manifestation.

INTRODUCTION: Congenital tuberculosis is an infrequently encountered condition and only 300 cases were reported in the literature till 1989. There are no specific signs and symptoms pathognomonic for congenital TB, and the devastating consequences in the absence of early therapy signify the importance of early diagnosis and treatment during the neonatal period. CASE PRESENTATION: In this paper we report on a case of congenital TB in a newborn who was admitted to our clinic with seizures and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) due to TB meningitis. Her mother was diagnosed with active pulmonary TB and treated with a multi-drug anti-tuberculosis regimen. Her screening for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was negative. Cerebrospinal fluid was collected and showed protein levels at 300 mg/dL, glucose at 27 mg/dL (serum glucose level was 76 mg/dL), many RBC, and a positive result for acid-fast bacilli on smear microscopy, all of which were compatible with tuberculous meningitis. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to consider TB meningitis in newborns with perinatal IVH and concomitant hydrocephalus particularly when the mother has a history of TB prior to or during pregnancy.