Iron deficiency anemia and COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a significant health and financial issue in the current century. Despite significant attempts to manage the illness, the transmission routes of the virus and its widespread genomic mutations have led to an increasing number of new infections and mortality rates. In the absence of specific treatment for this new virus, identifying and managing factors affecting the prognosis of the disease is one of the critical strategies to reduce disease mortality. Patients with iron deficiency anemia (IDA), who account for an estimated half a billion people globally, are more prone to infections due to immune system disorders. Since they visit hospitals more frequently for follow-up care and diagnosis, they are more susceptible to becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2. Once infected with SARS-CoV-2, low hemoglobin (Hb) levels and compromised immune systems disrupt the restriction of infection in these individuals, ultimately leading to severe complications of COVID-19.

Genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from northwest of Iran during COVID-19 era

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is considered one of the most infectious diseases in the world. In this study, we intended to examine the epidemiology of tuberculosis by MIRU-VNTR to define the changes that occur in the transmission of tuberculosis in the region during the COVID-19 era. A total of 120 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates were collected from sputum samples of patients referred to East Azerbaijan Center TB from December 2020 to August 2021. Demographic information such as age, sex, place of birth, previous TB history, and relevant medical data was collected. The proportion method was performed for drug susceptibility testing, and the PCR-based MIRU-VNTR method was applied to identify molecular epidemiology relationships. Result(s): The isolates were collected from 78 male (65%) and 39 female (32.5%) Iranian patients and 3 (2.5%) Azerbaijani patients. Ninety-three distinct patterns were identified including 15 clustered patterns and 36 unique patterns. The largest cluster was composed of seven isolates. Furthermore, one cluster with 5 members, four clusters with 3 members, and nine clusters with 2 members. In MIRU-VNTR typing, 75 clusters belonged to the Tabriz region and just 3 to the Republic of Azerbaijan. All isolates were sensitive to rifampin, isoniazid, and ethambutol. Conclusion(s): Results of the current study showed COVID-19 pandemic had a direct effect on the transmission and diagnosis of tuberculosis. Less diagnosis and less clustering can indicate public controls and hygiene, and the use of masks had a direct effect on the transmission and diagnosis of tuberculosis. However, misidentification and less focus on other respiratory infections are expected during the pandemic. Studies on the co-infection of COVID-19 and tuberculosis and the role of mask and sanitization against TB are strongly recommended. Copyright © 2023, The Author(s).

Risk factors for mucormycosis in covid-19 patients

Opportunistic infections, such as mucormycosis, in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has become a new health challenge. Since opportunistic infections can exacerbate COVID-19 patients' status, it is vital to identify the risk factors to prevent, diagnose, and treat them as soon as possible. Viral, fungal, environmental, and host factors may be responsible for this situation. Long hospital stays, impaired host immune system function due to viral infection, and excessive consumption of glucocorticoids in managing COVID-19 patients are the main risk factors for the increased risk of mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients. Educating health care workers and considering the association between mucormycosis of the paranasal sinuses and different strains of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as the cause of COVID-19 can help prevent invasive fungal sinusitis in COVID-19 patients. Copyright © 2021, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited.

Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on people with a preexisting psychiatric disorder

Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic has had a deleterious impact on populations across the world. Yet it remains unclear how this pandemic is affecting the psychological health of people with a previous history of mental illness. Objective(s): This study aims to investigate the impact of Covid-19 on patients with established mental disorders. Method(s): The PubMed and science direct databases were systematically searched using the keywords combination "Covid-19" and "psychiatric disorders", "the pandemic" and "mental disorders ", from inception up to November 2021. We adopted a broad inclusion criterion for the study requiring patients to have a pre-existing mental disorder, excluding narrative reviews and preclinical studies. In addition, a search of google scholar was conducted to identify any additional relevant publications. Result(s): We have found 26 studies but only 19 met our inclusion criteria. Included studies were published between 2020 and 2021. 2 major results were identified. Symptoms deterioration was reported in individuals with severe mental disorders and those with schizophrenia in particular, such as depressive or anxiety symptoms, substance use and suicidal ideation, due to the psychological stress and physical distancing measures associated with the Covid- 19 outbreak. The symptomatic treatments used in Covid-19 had frequent interactions with the most used antipsychotic drugs leading to a substantial increase in relapse rates in people with mental disorders. Conclusion(s): The Covid-19 pandemic has a serious impact on individuals with pre-existing mental illness reinforcing symptom severity and psychological stress. Additional studies are needed to strengthen current findings with pre-pandemic records.

Different Dimensions of the Effects of SARS-CoV-2 in Causing Fluctuations in the Blood Pressure of Patients

In late 2019, SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted from animal to human in China. Subsequently, the virus spread rapidly throughout the world by human-to-human transmission and caused high mortality the people with underlying diseases, especially hypertension. This virus binds to its receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), via the S protein. ACE2 has a negative regulatory function in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and degrades angiotensin 2 (Ang II) as a vasoconstrictor which causes blood pressure regulation. It also converts Ang II to Ang1-7, which has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects. SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with hypertension reduces ACE2 levels due to virus binding, which decreases Ang II degradation. Consequently, the complications associated with hypertension are raised, and blood pumping from the lungs into the left atrium lowers. On the other hand, the final product, Ang1-7, is reduced, and its related anti-inflammatory activity is also eliminated. The virus multiplies and damages lung cells, causing inflammation and edema of the lung tissue through the function of immune cells and cytokines, which eventually leads to lung damage, reduced oxygen delivery, and death. Careful care of patients with hypertension can prevent their infection and reduce their death with appropriate oxygen therapy and possibly using exogenous ACE2 supplements. © 2022 by the authors.

SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 and molecular pathway to enter target cells during infection

Novel Covid-19 (Sars-CoV-2) is a leading acute respiratory tract infection in humans and respiratory disease COVID-19 has gained global resonance, and attempts are being made to classify the molecular characteristics and evolutionary background of this virus. SARS-CoV-2 infects host cells via a variable molecular mechanism. Thus, the rapid and reliable diagnosis of pathogenic viruses plays a crucial role in finding the right treatments, saving lives, and stopping epidemics. that binds to host receptors and fuses viral and cell membranes. This review summarizes the information currently available about the seven HCoVs, with a focus on comparing and contrasting the various HCoVs from a virus evolution and genome recombination perspective. The cause for the angiotensin 2 receptor being an enzyme-converting site is also emphasized. This study sets out to shed light on the SARS-CoV-2 and the main entrance pathways into target cells. This is expected to help researchers and clinicians develop new methods to diagnose coronavirus infection in a timely and efficient manner. Copyright (C) 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Risk Factors for in COVID-19 Patients

Opportunistic infections, such as mucormycosis, in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has become a new health challenge. Since opportunistic infections can exacerbate COVID-19 patients' status, it is vital to identify the risk factors to prevent, diagnose, and treat them as soon as possible. Viral, fungal, environmental, and host factors may be responsible for this situation. Long hospital stays, impaired host immune system function due to viral infection, and excessive consumption of glucocorticoids in managing COVID-19 patients are the main risk factors for the increased risk of mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients. Educating health care workers and considering the association between mucormycosis of the paranasal sinuses and different strains of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as the cause of COVID-19 can help prevent invasive fungal sinusitis in COVID-19 patients.

Laboratory Diagnosis of COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 in bats was transmitted to humans by a peridomestic mammal in China and it was transmitted from humans to humans very quickly through coughing and sneezing and is spread all over the world and created coronavirus disease 2019. The disease causes a variety of symptoms in patients and it has killed a significant number of people around the world, especially people with underlying diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Early diagnosis of patients is very important to prevent the transmission of the disease from humans to humans and the spread of the virus. The virus causes abnormal computed tomography scans, lymphopenia, leukopenia, increased C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase in a significant number of patients. The standard method for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection is real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction with 2 genes RdRp and E being identified together in 1 experiment. Other methods such as cell culture, reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification, next-generation sequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and antigenic assessment can be used to study and identify the virus. IgG and IgM antibodies against S and N proteins are evaluated to recognize people who have been previously infected with the virus. © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.