SARS-CoV-2 and Coronavirus Disease Mitigation: Treatment Options, Vaccinations and Variants.

COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which was declared as a pandemic after it emerged in China 2019. A vast international effort has been conducted to prevent and treat COVID-19 due to its high transmissibility and severe morbidity and mortality rates, particularly in individuals with chronic co-morbidities. In addition, polymorphic variants increased the need for proper vaccination to overcome the infectivity of new variants that are emerging across the globe. Many treatment options have been proposed and more than 25 vaccines are in various stages of development; however, the infection peaks are oscillating periodically, which raises a significant question about the effectiveness of the prevention measures and the persistence of this pandemic disease. In this review, we are exploring the most recent knowledge and advances in the treatment and vaccination options as well as the new emerging variants of 2019-nCoV and the possible mitigation of one of the most aggressive pandemics in the last centuries.

Correlation of Sperm Mitochondrial DNA 7345 bp and 7599 bp Deletions with Asthenozoospermia in Jordanian Population.

BACKGROUND: Alterations in sperm mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) affect the functions of some OXPHOS proteins which will affect sperm motility and may be associated with asthenozoospermia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between 7599-bp and 7345-bp sperm mtDNA deletions and asthenozoospermia in Jordan. METHODS: Semen specimens from 200 men including 121 infertile and 79 healthy individuals were collected at the Royal Jordanian Medical Services In-vitro fertilization (IVF) units. The mtDNA was extracted followed by mtDNA amplification. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted for the target sequences, then DNA sequencing was performed for the PCR products. Chi-square, Fisher's and Spearman's tests were used to calculate the correlation. RESULTS: The results showed a significant correlation between the presence of 7599-bp mtDNA deletion and infertility where the frequency of the 7599-bp deletion was 63.6% in the infertile group compared to the fertile 34.2% (p<0.001, (OR=3.37, 95% CI=1.860 to 6.108)). Additionally, the sperm motility showed a significant association with the frequency of the 7599-bp deletion (p=0.001, r=-0.887). The 7345-bp mtDNA deletion showed no assoctiation with the infertility (p=0.65, (OR=0.837, 95% CI= 0.464-1.51)) or asthenozoospermia (p=0.98, r=0.008). CONCLUSION: We demonstrated a significant correlation between asthenozoospermia and the 7599-bp mtDNA deletion but not the 7345-bp mtDNA deletion in the infertile men in Jordan. Screening for deletions in sperm mtDNA can be used as a pre-diagnostic molecular marker for male infertility.