Riboflavin for COVID-19 Adjuvant Treatment in Patients With Mental Health Disorders: Observational Study.

Background: COVID-19 treatment remains a challenge for medicine because of the extremely short time for clinical studies of drug candidates, so the drug repurposing strategy, which implies the use of well-known and safe substances, is a promising approach. Objective: We present the results of an observational clinical study that focused on the influence of riboflavin (vitamin B2) supplementation on the immune markers of COVID-19 severity in patients with mental health disorders. Results: We have found that 10 mg of flavin mononucleotide (a soluble form of riboflavin) intramuscularly twice a day within 7 days correlated with the normalization of clinically relevant immune markers (neutrophils and lymphocytes counts, as well as their ratio) in COVID-19 patients. Additionally, we demonstrated that total leucocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes counts, as well as the neutrophils to leucocytes ratio (NLR), correlated with the severity of the disease. We also found that patients with organic disorders (F0 in ICD-10) demonstrated higher inflammation then patients with schizophrenia (F2 in ICD-10). Conclusion: We suggest that riboflavin supplementation could be promising for decreasing inflammation in COVID-19, and further evaluation is required. This observational clinical trial has been registered by the Sverzhevsky Research Institute of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology (Moscow, Russia), Protocol No. 4 dated 05/27/2020.

[Effects of diet on the gut microbiome in patients with depression]. / Vliyanie diety na mikrobiom kishechnika u patsientov s depressiei.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of diet on the gut microbiota and to assess the relationship of these factors with depression. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Microorganisms that predominate in depressed patients were identified and associations of the identified organisms with the patients' diet were performed. Fourteen depressed patients and 14 healthy volunteers with the same socio-demographic parameters were included in the study. The Hamilton Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Questionnaire were used. RESULTS: Erysipelatoclostridium and Clostridium innocuum species were 11.3 and 14.4 times higher in depressed patients compared with healthy controls. Fusicatenibacter saccharivorans, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Roseburia faecis species, as well as members of the genus Roseburia were statistically significantly more abundant in the healthy volunteers group (6.5, 2.14, 8.75 and 5.2 times more frequently compared to patients). The presence of these microorganisms was correlated with dietary components. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed groups of microorganisms that differ in healthy volunteers and depressed patients. The association of these microorganisms with the diet was shown, which partially confirmed the influence of a «healthy diet¼ on the development of depressive disorders.

[Alimemazine in treatment of agitation in schizophrenia]. / Primenenie Alimemazina pri kupirovanii vozbuzhdeniya u bol'nykh shizofreniei.

OBJECTIVE: An analysis of the efficacy and safety of additional therapy of excitement with the injectable form of alimemazine during exacerbations of schizophrenia with psychomotor agitation, impulsivity, including dangerous behavior, irritability, conflict, hostility, aggressiveness, anxiety, sleep disturbances (insomnia). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty patients, aged 18 to 65 years, with a diagnosis of «paranoid schizophrenia¼, established in accordance with the ICD-10 criteria, were studied. The patients received treatment with a second-generation antipsychotic and alimemazine (intramuscular injection solution) in daily dose from 25 mg to 150 mg during no more than 9 days. The patients were assessed with psychometric scales (PANSS, ABS, HARS and VAS) four times during the observation period. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: During therapy with a combination of second-generation antipsychotics and alimemazine solution for intramuscular injection, a reliable (p<0.001) reduction in the severity of psychotic symptoms assessed with PANSS was achieved by 8-9 days (the average total score decreased by 30% relative to the initial level) that indicated the improvement in all manifestations of schizophrenia exacerbation. A decrease of 34.8% (p=0.007) in the risk of aggression (PANSS points S1-S3) was established. The level of excitation on the agitation scale (ABS) decreased by 3.6% (p<0.001). In 50% of patients, manifestations of anxiety disappeared, and the average HARS score decreased by 2.2 times compared with the initial level (p<0.001). Almost half of the patients noted the normalization of sleep, and the average value of sleep disturbance on a visual analogue scale decreased threefold compared with the initial level (p<0.001). The observed adverse events were moderate or mild. Alimemazine shows the highest efficacy in the treatment of anxiety arousal in patients with schizophrenia with affective-delusional attacks.

Transport of Cl- across the plasma membrane during pollen grain germination in tobacco.

The role of Cl- transport across the plasma membrane was studied in an early step of pollen grain germination in tobacco Nicotiana tabacum L. The Cl- channel blockers, 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid (NPPB) and niflumic acid, completely suppress the germination with IC(50) approximately 8 micro M. At this concentration NPPB reduces the rate of Cl- efflux out of pollen grain by 1.8-fold in the interval 5-12 min, and niflumic acid reduces the rate 1.2-fold. 4,4;-Diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2;-disulfonic acid, a known inhibitor of Cl- channels and antiporters, completely suppresses germination as well (IC(50) = 240 micro M), but has no effect on the rate of Cl- efflux. Inhibitors of chloride co-transporters, such as furosemide, bumetanide, and bis(1,3-dibutylbarbituric acid)pentamethine oxonol, suppress the germination by less than 50%. This set of data suggests that NPPB-sensitive anion channels are involved in the activation of pollen grains in the early stage of germination.