Covid-19: current knowledge, disease potential, prevention and clinical advances

Scoping review on lessons learnt on the promotion and use of drugs and traditional medicine in Africa during COVID-19

ABSTRACTScientific evidence on the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical drugs, substances and herbal medicines is important in medical advertising and promotion. Following guidelines for conducting a scoping review, we systematically searched PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science to identify in peer reviewed articles medications that were promoted and used widely in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also searched for information about how safety concerns about untested/or not properly tested drugs were communicated to the public during the pandemic. Of the 2043 articles identified, 41 papers were eligible for inclusion. Most studies were clinical trials (n = 11), systematic reviews (n = 9), quantitative studies (n = 9) the rest were qualitative studies, reviews and reports. We found that following global trends, several drugs, traditional and herbal treatments were used and repurposed for the treatment of respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 in Africa. The results highlighted the value of some herbal medicines for treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the risks posed by the unregulated sharing of advice and recommendations on treatments in Africa, and globally.

Exploring the therapeutic potential of marine-derived bioactive compounds against COVID-19

The ocean is the most biodiverse habitat of various organisms. The organisms surviving in the harsh conditions of the ocean consist of several spectacular properties and produce bioactive compounds of pharmacological importance. These compounds are effective even in small quantities with various immunomodulatory qualities such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Though the vaccines for COVID-19 are developed, and drug development is also in progress, but till now no effective drug is available for this deadly virus. Researchers are mining the huge data of bioactive compounds to develop the specific drug for COVID-19. The use of the repurposed drugs is challenging against the rapidly mutating virus with variable symptoms and mode of transmission. This review is an attempt to compile all the spattered data of marine-derived bioactive compounds with antiviral properties and to explore their therapeutic potential against COVID-19.

Neurological Effects of Sars-Cov-2 And Neurotoxicity of Antiviral Drugs Against Covid-19

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is caused by different SARS viruses. In 2020, novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) led to an ongoing pandemic, known as "Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)". The disease can spread among individuals through direct (via saliva, respiratory secretions or secretion droplets) or indirect (through contaminated objects or surfaces) contact. The pandemic has spread rapidly from Asia to Europe and later to America. It continues to affect all parts of the world at an increasing rate. There have been over 92 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 by mid-January 2021. The similarity of homological sequences between SARS-CoV-2 and other SARS-CoVs is high. In addition, clinical symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 and other SARS viruses show similarities. However, some COVID-19 cases show neurologic signs like headache, loss of smell, hiccups and encephalopathy. The drugs used in the palliative treatment of the disease also have some neurotoxic effects. Currently, there are approved vaccines for COVID-19. However, there is a need for specific therapeutics against COVID-19. This review will describe the neurological effects of SARS-CoV-2 and the neurotoxicity of COVID-19 drugs used in clinics. Drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19 will be evaluated by their mechanism of action and their toxicological effects.

The effect of acupoint herbal patching on the quality of life of patients recovering from COVID-19: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis

BACKGROUND

There is a worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, and as the number of patients increases, an increasing number of patients are recovering. However, no relevant systematic review or meta-analysis has been designed to evaluate the effects of acupoint herbal patching on the life of patients recovering from COVID-19.

METHODS

The following electronic databases will be searched from the respective dates of database inception to April 20, 2021: The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, MEDLINE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Wanfang database, the Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), and other sources. All published randomized controlled trials in English or Chinese related to acupoint herbal patching for COVID-19 will be included. The primary outcome was the timing of the influence of acupoint herbal patching on the quality of life of convalescent patients. Secondary outcomes were accompanying symptoms (such as myalgia, expectoration, stuffiness, runny nose, pharyngalgia, anhelation, chest distress, dyspnea, crackles, headache, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea) disappearance rate, negative COVID-19 results rate on two consecutive occasions (not on the same day), average hospitalization time, clinical curative effect, and improved quality of life.

RESULTS

The main purpose of this systematic review protocol was to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupoint herbal patching therapy for treating patients recovering from COVID-19.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion of our study will provide evidence to judge whether acupoint herbal patching is an effective intervention for the quality of life in patients recovering.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021246550.

Design of an epitope-based peptide vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2: a vaccine-informatics approach

The recurrent and recent global outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has turned into a global concern which has infected more than 42 million people all over the globe, and this number is increasing in hours. Unfortunately, no vaccine or specific treatment is available, which makes it more deadly. A vaccine-informatics approach has shown significant breakthrough in peptide-based epitope mapping and opens the new horizon in vaccine development. In this study, we have identified a total of 15 antigenic peptides [including thymus cells (T-cells) and bone marrow or bursa-derived cells] in the surface glycoprotein (SG) of SARS-CoV-2 which is nontoxic and nonallergenic in nature, nonallergenic, highly antigenic and non-mutated in other SARS-CoV-2 virus strains. The population coverage analysis has found that cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4+) T-cell peptides showed higher cumulative population coverage over cluster of differentiation 8 (CD8+) peptides in the 16 different geographical regions of the world. We identified 12 peptides ((LTDEMIAQY, WTAGAAAYY, WMESEFRVY, IRASANLAA, FGAISSVLN, VKQLSSNFG, FAMQMAYRF, FGAGAALQI, YGFQPTNGVGYQ, LPDPSKPSKR, QTQTNSPRRARS and VITPGTNTSN) that are $80\hbox{--} 90\%$ identical with experimentally determined epitopes of SARS-CoV, and this will likely be beneficial for a quick progression of the vaccine design. Moreover, docking analysis suggested that the identified peptides are tightly bound in the groove of human leukocyte antigen molecules which can induce the T-cell response. Overall, this study allows us to determine potent peptide antigen targets in the SG on intuitive grounds, which opens up a new horizon in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) research. However, this study needs experimental validation by in vitro and in vivo.

DNA vaccines against COVID-19: Perspectives and challenges

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a novel coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is associated with several fatal cases worldwide. The rapid spread of this pathogen and the increasing number of cases highlight the urgent development of vaccines. Among the technologies available for vaccine development, DNA vaccination is a promising alternative to conventional vaccines. Since its discovery in the 1990s, it has been of great interest because of its ability to elicit both humoral and cellular immune responses while showing relevant advantages regarding producibility, stability, and storage. This review aimed to summarize the current knowledge and advancements on DNA vaccines against COVID-19, particularly those in clinical trials.

COVID-19 Knowledge, Risk Perception, and Precautionary Behavior Among Nigerians: A Moderated Mediation Approach

The novel coronavirus has not only brought along disruptions to daily socio-economic activities, but sickness and deaths due to its high contagion. With no widely acceptable pharmaceutical cure, the best form of prevention may be precautionary measures which will guide against infections and curb the spread of the disease. This study explored the relationship between COVID-19 knowledge, risk perception, and precautionary behavior among Nigerians. The study also sought to determine whether this relationship differed for men and women. A web-based cross-sectional design approach was used to recruit 1,554 participants (mean age = 27.43, SD = 9.75; 42.7% females) from all geopolitical zones in Nigeria, through social media platforms using a snowball sampling technique. Participants responded to web-based survey forms comprising demographic questions and adapted versions of the Ebola knowledge scale, SARS risk perception scale, and precautionary behavior scale. Moderated mediation analysis of the data showed that risk perception mediated the association between COVID-19 knowledge and precautionary behavior and this indirect effect was in turn moderated by gender. Results indicate that having adequate knowledge of COVID-19 was linked to higher involvement in precautionary behavior through risk perception for females but not for males. It was also noted that awareness campaigns and psychological intervention strategies on COVID-19 related activities may be particularly important for males more than females. Drawing from the health belief model, we recommend that COVID-19 awareness campaigns should target raising more awareness of the risks associated with the infection to make individuals engage more in precautionary behaviors.