Articles: coronavirus.
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Human coronaviruses (HCoVs), including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), have been resulting in global epidemics with heavy morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, there are currently no specific medicines that can better treat these coronaviruses. Drug repurposing is an effective and economical strategy for drug discovery from existing drugs, natural products, and synthetic compounds. In this review, the broad-spectrum antiviral activity of valinomycin (VAL), especially its activity against coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43), were summarized, it highlights that VAL has tremendous potential for use as a novel antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2.
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Semin. Arthritis Rheum. · Oct 2020
COVID-19 in systemic lupus erythematosus: Data from a survey on 417 patients.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic disease characterised by autoimmunity and increased susceptibility to infections. COVID-19 is a systemic viral disease currently spreading as a pandemic. Little is known about the impact of COVID-19 in patients with SLE. ⋯ COVID-19 morbidity might only moderately be increased in most patients with SLE, although limited information can be inferred on more severe cases. Hydroxychloroquine apparently seems not to confer protection to infection per se, although other beneficial roles cannot be excluded. Containment policies and behavioural preventive measures could have a major role in limiting the impact of COVID-19 in patients with SLE.
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Researchers, engineers, and medical doctors are made aware of the severity of the COVID-19 infection and act quickly against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 using a large variety of tools. In this review, a panoply of nanoscience and nanotechnology approaches show how these disciplines can help the medical, technical, and scientific communities to fight the pandemic, highlighting the development of nanomaterials for detection, sanitation, therapies, and vaccines. SARS-CoV-2, which can be regarded as a functional core-shell nanoparticle (NP), can interact with diverse materials in its vicinity and remains attached for variable times while preserving its bioactivity. ⋯ Therapeutics are based on nanotechnology strategies as well and focus on antiviral drug design and on new nanoarchitectured vaccines. A brief overview on patented work is presented that emphasizes nanotechnology applied to coronaviruses. Finally, some comments are made on patents of the initial technological responses to COVID-19 that have already been put in practice.
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Comprehensive psychiatry · Oct 2020
The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the general population of Saudi Arabia.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging infection causing a widely spread pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The current COVID-2019 pandemic is prompting fear of falling sick, dying, helplessness and stigma, urgent and timely understanding of mental health status is needed to help the community. Our investigation designed to survey the general population in Saudi Arabia to assess the degree of psychological impact during the pandemic. ⋯ Throughout the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in Saudi Arabia, the results showed that nearly one-fourth of the sampled general population experienced moderate to severe psychological impact. Following specific precautionary measures appeared to have a protective effect on the individual's mental health. Our findings can be used to construct psychological interventions directed toward vulnerable populations and to implement public mental health strategies in the early stages of the outbreak.