Correlation between chest CT severity score and laboratory indicators in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

OBJECTIVE: The association between computed tomography (CT) and clinical severity of COVID-19 has been demonstrated. However, there are few studies on CT and laboratory indicators in patients in COVID-19. Our aim was to explore the correlation between chest CT images and laboratory indicators of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of patients with COVID-19 diagnosed and treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Putian University from 24 January 2020 to 6 March 2020. The correlation test between first chest CT score and blood cell analysis, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), blood biochemistry and T lymphocyte subsets (T-Ls) was investigated. RESULTS: Among the 56 patients, there were 36 (64.3%) males and 20 (35.7%) females. The mean age of the patients was 46.54 ± 15.82 (range, 15-86) years. The CT score in the moderate group was higher than in the mild group (5.06 ± 0.77 vs 1.87 ± 0.88, P < .05), and higher in the severe group than in the moderate and mild groups (10.71 ± 4.21, P < .05). In addition, the ESR was significantly higher in the severe group than mild group (32.00 (26.04, 58.24) vs 11.00 (7.84, 24.70) mm/h, P < .05). The CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD4/CD8 cells were not different (all P > .05). The CT scores of all patients correlated positively with CRP, LDH and ESR (all P < .01). CONCLUSION: The chest CT characteristics of patients with COVID-19 correlated positively with CRP, ESR and LDH, which may use one of the indicators for the assessment of disease severity.

Protective Effects of an Ancient Chinese Kidney-Tonifying Formula against H2O2-Induced Oxidative Damage to MES23.5 Cells.

Oxidative damage plays a critical role in the etiology of neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD). In our study, an ancient Chinese kidney-tonifying formula, which consists of Cistanche, Epimedii, and Polygonatum cirrhifolium, was investigated to protect MES23.5 dopaminergic neurons against hydrogen peroxide- (H2O2-) induced oxidative damage. The damage effects of H2O2 on MES23.5 cells and the protective effects of KTF against oxidative stress were evaluated using MTT assay, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), immunocytochemistry (ICC), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunoblotting. The results showed that cell viability was dramatically decreased after a 12 h exposure to 150 µM H2O2. TEM observation found that the H2O2-treated MES23.5 cells presented cellular organelle damage. However, when cells were incubated with KTF (3.125, 6.25, and 12.5 µg/ml) for 24 h after H2O2 exposure, a significant protective effect against H2O2-induced damage was observed in MES23.5 cells. Using ICC, we found that KTF inhibited the reduction of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) induced by H2O2, upregulated the mRNA and protein expression of HO-1, CAT, and GPx-1, and downregulated the expression of caspase 3. These results indicated that KTF may provide neuron protection against H2O2-induced cell damage through ameliorating oxidative stress, and our findings provide a new potential strategy for the prevention and treatment of Parkinson's disease.