Asian Pac J Allergy
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Asian Pac J Allergy · Sep 2020
ReviewPotential role of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination in COVID-19 pandemic mortality: Epidemiological and Immunological aspects.
SARS-CoV-2 had already killed more than 400,000 patients around the world according to data on 7 June 2020. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is developed from live-attenuated Mycobacterium bovis, which is a microorganism found in a cow. Discovered by Dr. ⋯ Clinical trials related to BCG vaccination against COVID-19 are under investigation. Without a strong evidence, BCG must not be recommended for COVID-19 prevention, although, this should not be absolute contraindication. Risk of local and systemic complications from the vaccine should be informed to individual, who request BCG immunization.
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Asian Pac J Allergy · Sep 2020
Meta AnalysisOlfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions (OGD) are pathognomonic symptoms in patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study reviews the associations of OGD with COVID-19 which will be useful for early diagnosis and self-isolation. Systematic searches of PubMed, Ovid Medline, Scopus, and EMBASE electronic databases were performed. ⋯ Fifty percent (95% CI 36.7 to 63.3%) of COVID-19 patients had olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunctions. In summary, there are associations between OGD and COVID-19 patients. Patients presenting with ARI should be assessed for olfactory and gustatory functions.
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Asian Pac J Allergy · Mar 2020
ReviewPerspectives on monoclonal antibody therapy as potential therapeutic intervention for Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19).
Last decade witnessed the outbreak of many life-threatening human pathogens including Nipah, Ebola, Chikungunya, Zika, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Severe Acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and more recently novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV or SARS-CoV-2). The disease condition associated with novel coronavirus, referred to as Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The emergence of novel coronavirus in 2019 in Wuhan, China marked the third highly pathogenic coronavirus infecting humans in the 21st century. ⋯ The therapeutic potential of monoclonal antibodies has been well recognized in the treatment of many diseases. Here, we summarize the potential monoclonal antibody based therapeutic intervention for COVID-19 by considering the existing knowledge on the neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against similar coronaviruses SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Further research on COVID-19 pathogenesis could identify appropriate therapeutic targets to develop specific anti-virals against this newly emerging pathogen.
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Asian Pac J Allergy · Mar 2020
ReviewImmune responses in COVID-19 and potential vaccines: Lessons learned from SARS and MERS epidemic.
As the world is witnessing the epidemic of COVID-19, a disease caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerging genetics and clinical evidences suggest a similar path to those of SARS and MERS. The rapid genomic sequencing and open access data, together with advanced vaccine technology, are expected to give us more knowledge on the pathogen itself, including the host immune response as well as the plan for therapeutic vaccines in the near future. This review aims to provide a comparative view among SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and the newly epidemic SARS-CoV-2, in the hope to gain a better understanding of the host-pathogen interaction, host immune responses, and the pathogen immune evasion strategies. This predictive view may help in designing an immune intervention or preventive vaccine for COVID-19 in the near future.
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Asian Pac J Allergy · Dec 2016
ReviewThe potential impact of gut microbiota on your health:Current status and future challenges.
Our health and probably also our behaviors and mood depend not only on what we eat or what we do (lifestyle behaviors), but also on what we host. It is well established for decades that all vertebrates including humans are colonized by a wide array of bacteria, fungi, eukaryotic parasites and viruses, and that, at steady state (homeostasis), this community of microbes establishes a friendly mutual relationship with the host. The term microbiota was originally meant to represent an ecological community of commensals and potentially pathogenic microbes that live within our bodies, but it is now used interchangeably with the term microbiome which was initially meant to represent a collective genome of the microbiota. ⋯ The microbiota-based therapeutics together with personalized medicine may be the most accurate and optimal strategy for the future treatment of some difficult-to-manage diseases. However, many challenges remain to be solved before the translational potential of this new knowledge can be implemented clinically. In this review, I highlight some important recent developments and advances that contribute to our understanding in the role of microbiota in human health and disease and on how to best manipulate the microbiome to promote greater human health.