{"title":"Therapeutic Role of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors in COVID-19","authors":"N. Mikhail, Soma Wali","doi":"10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)116","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Limited retrospective data suggest that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors such as sitagliptin may decrease mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Objective: To review the strength of evidence that supports possible therapeutic role of DPP-4 inhibitors in COVID-19. Methods: PUBMED search until October 10, 2020. Search terms included COVID-19, DPP-4 inhibitors, sitagliptin, CD26, mortality, diabetes. Retrospective studies, pertinent animal investigations and pre-print studies are reviewed. Results: Three retrospective studies have shown that use of DPP-4 inhibitors was associated with significant mortality reduction of approximately 56- 87% in patients with diabetes admitted with COVID-19. In addition, in one of these studies, the use of sitagliptin before hospitalization was associated with greater number of hospital discharges, improvement of clinical status, reduced risk of transfer to intensive care unit (ICU) and need for mechanical ventilation compared with patients who were not receiving sitagliptin. Moreover, there was significant decrease in some pro-inflammatory markers in the sitagliptin group. A small retrospective study of 9 patients who were taking a DPP-4 inhibitor prior to admission did not find any significant effect of DPP-4 inhibitors on mortality and clinical outcomes after hospitalization. Results of another small study suggested increase susceptibility to COVID-19, but not to its severity, in patients taking DPP-4 inhibitors. Conclusions: Weak evidence derived from observational studies suggests possible beneficial effects of DPP-4 inhibitors use in patients with type 2 diabetes and COVID-19. Randomized trials are urgently needed to clarify the efficacy and safety of DPP-4 inhibitors in patients with COVID-19 with and without type 2 diabetes","PeriodicalId":247504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Virology Research & Reports","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127839041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"First cases of Recombinant Noroviruses in Cameroon","authors":"A. E. Mugyia, V. Ndze, J. Akoachere","doi":"10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)112","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)112","url":null,"abstract":"Noroviruses have been reported as being a common cause of acute gastroenteritis both in children and adults worldwide. Genotyping and nomenclature of noroviruses was based on the partial capsid gene of the ORF2. Due to frequent reported recombination activities in the ORF1/ORF2 junction, a new dual nomenclature has been proposed based on genotyping of two genes – the capsid and polymerase genes. This study identified recombinant noroviruses circulating in Cameroon between 2010 and 2013. RT-PCR –based methods, next generation sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were used to genotype samples from hospitalized children. The combined RdRp/capsid dual genotype was determined for 19 GII strains including 5 RdRp genotypes (GII.P4, GII.P7, GII.P17, GII.P21, and GII.P31) and 5 capsid genotypes (GII.2, GII.3, GII.4, GII.6, GII.17). They had 17(89.5%) recombinants and 2 (112.5%) non recombinants. 17 were recombinants. The most prevalent noroviruses were GII.4 (76.5%) consisting of GII.4 Sydney [P31] (41.2%) and GII.4 Sydney [P4 New Orleans] (35.3%), followed by GII.6 [P7] (11.8%), GII.2 [P21] (5.9%) and GII.3 [P21] (5.9%). This is the first study of norovirus dual genotyping and recombinants in Cameroon. Recombination activity is high and contributes to ongoing evolution of circulating noroviruses in Cameroon.","PeriodicalId":247504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Virology Research & Reports","volume":"208 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134125316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A New Trend in Dealing with Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic","authors":"M. Mahmood","doi":"10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)117","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":247504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Virology Research & Reports","volume":"107 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133180625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Study of the Safety and Efficacy of the Hydroxychloroquine Protocol against COVID-19 in Algeria: Experience of the Gynaecology Department of the EHU Oran","authors":"H. Toumi, Sharif Fz, S. Mansur","doi":"10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)121","url":null,"abstract":"In Algeria, the Scientific Council of the Ministry of Health has decided on the hydroxychloroquine protocol for the treatment of patients with COVID-19, as the hydroxychloroquine molecule has not been the subject of a randomized clinical trial and the therapeutic evidence remains uncertain. The safety of hydroxychloroquine remains dependent on a study to secure and evaluate the efficacy of this protocol in the management of COVID- 19 infection. This is a prospective study of 55 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in the gynaecology department at EHU Oran for a period of one month and confirmed by RT-PCR or thoracoabdominal CT scan. The safety indicator and therapeutic evaluation were based on active reporting of protocol adverse events. In conclusion, the COVID-19 therapeutic protocol is not devoid of adverse effects, even though it brings a benefit, whereas during our study some patients who did not benefit from the protocol showed the same remission rate.","PeriodicalId":247504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Virology Research & Reports","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128352132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dengue Virus in Sri Lanka: An Observational Study From 2014-2018","authors":"F. Aslam","doi":"10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)113","url":null,"abstract":"Dengue virus is one of major public heath burden in several countries, it is described to be “a fast-emerging pandemic prone viral disease” by the WHO and is one of the most common form of vector borne diseases worldwide. The disease is transmitted through the female Aedes mosquito and most commonly found in tropical countries. A reported 400 million reported dengue cases occur yearly and an estimated 3 billion people could be affected by the disease in the upcoming decade making it a global crisis. The disease is caused by four serotypes of the dengue virus (DENV1-4) making it difficult for the treatment to work on the patients due to its different virulent mechanism. Using the data available from the Ministry of Health, Epidemiology Unit in Sri Lanka the dengue reported cases from 2014 to 2018 are analyzed over the five years to identify the trends and occurrence patterns [1,2].","PeriodicalId":247504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Virology Research & Reports","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125823578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Case Report on Reinfection Case of COVID-19","authors":"A. Meqbel","doi":"10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)123","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)123","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The degree of protective immunity conferred by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently unknown. As such, the possibility of reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 is not well understood. We describe an investigation of two instances of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the same individual. Methods: A 24-year-old man who was a resident of Harjah Governorate in the KSA, Region of Aseer presented to health authorities on two occasions with symptoms of viral infection, once at a community testing event in June, 2020, and a second time to the hospital in the September, 2020. Nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained from the patient at each presentation and Two Times during follow-up. Nucleic acid amplification testing was done to confirm SARSCoV-2 infection. We did next-generation sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 extracted from nasopharyngeal swabs. Sequence data were assessed by two different bioinformatics methodologies. A short tandem repeat marker was used for fragment analysis to confirm that samples from both infections came from the same individual. Findings: The patient had two positive tests for SARS-CoV-2, the first on June 24, 2020, and the second on September 19, 2020, separated by one negative test done during follow-up in July, 2020. Genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 showed genetically significant differences between each variant associated with each instance of infection. The second infection was symptomatically more severe than the first. Interpretation: Genetic discordance of the two SARS-CoV-2 specimens was greater than could be accounted for by short-term in vivo evolution. These findings suggest that the patient was infected by SARS-CoV-2 on two separate occasions by a genetically distinct virus. Thus, previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 might not guarantee total immunity in all cases. All individuals, whether previously diagnosed with COVID-19 or not, should take identical precautions to avoid infection with SARS-CoV-2. The implications of reinfections could be relevant for vaccine development and application.","PeriodicalId":247504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Virology Research & Reports","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115256683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Vaccine Design through Machine Learning and Nanotechnology to Terminate COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Hyunjo Kim, Jae-Hoon Song, South Korea Ansorp","doi":"10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)122","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 vaccine development involves high-tech platforms such as viral vectors, antigen carriers, and delivery technology. Nanotechnology tools can play a pivotal role in advancing COVID-19 treatment and vaccine design. Information related to the structural morphology of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, its pathophysiology, and related immunological response is the most important factor at the nanotechnology point of view. In the absence of a specific antiviral against SARS- CoV-2, present therapeutics target the multifaceted molecular interactions involved in viral infections and major comprises repurposing already existing antiviral molecules used for other RNA viruses. Furthermore, various kinds of vaccine candidate’s structure could be screened by using ma- chine learning. Recently, it is equally important to look for a suitable Nano-carrier delivery technology to make these repurposed therapeutics as well as new vaccine development safer and more effective affordable methodologies so that nanotechnology can reach patients.","PeriodicalId":247504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Virology Research & Reports","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130778010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Improved Recovery and Survival with Trimethoprim or Cotrimoxazole in Patients with Severe COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis","authors":"V. Varney, T. John, T. Samuel","doi":"10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)118","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)118","url":null,"abstract":"Background: COVID-19 may become a life-threatening illness as a result of acute respiratory distress syndrome with the mainstay of management supportive, although dexamethasone and serum from recovered patients look helpful in reducing mortality in oxygen dependant patients. Methods: We retrospectively analysed data from 22 patients with severe COVID-19 treated with trimethoprim (TMP) or cotrimoxazole (CTX) added to standard therapy antibiotics (ST) and compared this with anonymized data from 22 patients with COVID-19 of similar severity receiving ST alone. Results: Patients receiving additional TMP or CTX showed clinical improvement within 48 hours with reduced fever (p= 0.001), C-reactive protein levels (p=0.002) and oxygen requirements (SpO2/FiO2, p<0.001). Mortality was reduced (to 5% versus 32% for ST, p=0.022) and the need for ventilatory support (3 versus 16 patients on ST, p<0.001) and hospital length of stay (mean: 9 days versus 22 days on ST p<0.001). Discussion: This benefit may be due to combined antimicrobial and immunological effects of TMP and CTX. Both drugs block stimulation of the formyl peptide receptors (FPR’s) on the surface of circulating neutrophils and monocytes. When stimulated, FPR’s cause homing of neutrophils to the lung and trigger the release of Reactive Oxygen Series driving cytokine production and therefore a possible cytokine storm. Stressed neutrophils can extrude their nuclear content as ‘external nets’ (NETosis) to trap infectious agents, these nets can block the pulmonary alveolar bed giving severe hypoxia and death as seen in post mortems from COVID-19 patients. Blocking of neutrophil FPR’s by these drugs may be the mechanism by which they protect the lung in COVID-19.","PeriodicalId":247504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Virology Research & Reports","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122359047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Pathophysiology of COVID-19","authors":"J. D. Soto, S. Hakim, F. Boyd","doi":"10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)114","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47363/JVRR/2020(1)114","url":null,"abstract":"Background: On Dec 19, 2019, the public health department of China reported that an outbreak of pneumonia was caused by a novel Coronavirus. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Department (WHO) declared a worldwide pandemic. Understanding the pathophysiology of the SARS-COV-2 virus is necessary for understanding the transmission, clinical presentation, associated risk factors, predicted outcomes, and provides guidance for treatment protocols. Methodology: A comprehensive PubMed search was performed utilizing the terms: COVID-19 in combination with the terms virulence (507), and/or pathophysiology (490) leading to 997 results. These results were then screened for relevance. Categorized, and evaluated under the auspices of making good pathophysiological sense. Results: The SARS-COV-2 virus is much more virulent than either the SAR’s or MER’s virus with its ability to cause serious disease inversely dependent on a person’s ability to produce T-cells. The ability to produce T-cells declines linearly until the age of 65. The ACE-2 receptor binding site does not vary among different ethnic groups, but initial evidence suggests there may be differences ACE-2 expression levels. This variance in expression level may explain different infectivity rates but not clinical outcome. The clinical outcome seems more related to the cytokine storm. Obesity, asthma, and COPD may decrease one’s likelihood of being infected but increases the morbidity rates once infected along with poor diet, hypertension, diabetes, and immunodeficiency. Conclusions: The underlying pathophysiology of COVID-19 explains not only the virulence, and clinical presentation, and suggest adverse clinical responses are related to dysregulation of the immune response.","PeriodicalId":247504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Virology Research & Reports","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128629144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Wanted: A 21st Century Flexner","authors":"M. Ayoade","doi":"10.47363/jvrr/2020(1)110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47363/jvrr/2020(1)110","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":247504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Virology Research & Reports","volume":"53 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122878926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}