Revisiting the role of neurotransmitters in epilepsy: An updated review

The global pandemic of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread and poses serious threats to public health and economic stability throughout the world. Thus, to protect the global population, developing safe and effective vaccines is mandatory to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Since genomic sequences of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-1 have similarity and use the same receptor (ACE2), it is important to learn from the development of SARS-CoV-1 vaccines for the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Normally vaccine development takes 10-15 years but vaccine development against SARS-CoV2 is going on at a very fast pace resulting in almost breakthrough methods of vaccine development by several research institutions. The whole process of vaccine development including clinical trials gets shortened and may be fast tracked to 15-18 months. Global collaborations and increased research efforts among the scientific community have led to more than 214 candidate vaccines globally. The current review highlights the different approaches and technologies used around the world for the design and development of the vaccines and also focuses on the recent status of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates under development by various institutions to combat the world threat of COVID-19 pandemic.

/pdf/review-on-up-to-date-status-of-candidate-vaccines-for-covid-2y3qtmjl2t.pdf

Review on Up-to-Date Status of Candidate Vaccines for COVID-19 Disease

The dire need for safe and effective coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines is met with many vaccine candidates being evaluated in pre-clinical and clinical studies. The COVID-19 vaccine candidates currently in phase 3 or phase 2/3 clinical trials as well as those that recently received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and/or other regulatory agencies worldwide require either cold (i.e., 2-8°C) or even freezing temperatures as low as -70°C for storage and distribution. Thus, existing cold chain will struggle to support both the standard national immunization programs and COVID-19 vaccination. The requirement for cold chain is now a major challenge towards worldwide rapid mass vaccination against COVID-19. In this commentary, we stress that thermostabilizing technologies are available to enable cold chain-free vaccine storage and distribution, as well as potential needle-free vaccination. Significant efforts on thermostabilizing technologies must now be applied on next-generation COVID-19 vaccines for more cost-effective worldwide mass vaccination and COVID-19 eradication.

/pdf/next-generation-covid-19-vaccines-should-take-efficiency-of-negho3m428.pdf

Next-Generation COVID-19 Vaccines Should Take Efficiency of Distribution into Consideration.

INTRODUCTION: SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, attacks the immune system causing an exaggerated and uncontrolled release of pro-inflammatory mediators (cytokine storm). Recent studies propose an active role of coagulation disorders in disease progression. This hypercoagulability has been displayed by marked increase in D-dimer in hospitalized patients. AREAS COVERED: This review summarizes the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, generation of cytokine storm, the interdependence between inflammation and coagulation, its consequences and the possible management options for coagulation complications like venous thromboembolism (VTE), microthrombosis, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and systemic and local coagulopathy. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar for relevant reports using COVID-19, cytokine storm, and coagulation as keywords. EXPERT OPINION: A prophylactic dose of 5000-7500 units of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) has been recommended for hospitalized COVID-19 patients in order to prevent VTE. Treatment dose of LMWH, based on disease severity, is being contemplated for patients showing a marked rise in levels of D-dimer due to possible pulmonary thrombi. Additionally, targeting PAR-1, thrombin, coagulation factor Xa and the complement system may be potentially useful in reducing SARS-CoV-2 infection induced lung injury, microvascular thrombosis, VTE and related outcomes like DIC and multi-organ failure.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14787210.2021.1915129

Cytokine storm associated coagulation complications in COVID-19 patients: Pathogenesis and Management.

Resveratrol inhibits NF-B signaling through suppression of p65 and IB kinase activities

Pneumonia of unknown etiology was detected in a few patients in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The causative agent was named as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the World Health Organization (WHO). The disease caused by this virus was named as a new coronavirus disease: COVID-19. The disease has a global impact affecting more than 200 nations including the USA, India, Brazil, Russia, and Peru are the 5 most severely affected nations. The discovery of the genotype and phenotype of SARS-CoV-2 boosted the global efforts for the development of treatment options and vaccines for the COVID-19. As the transmission of the virus is rapid, to protect the global population, the development of an effective vaccine against the virus is very essential. The current review highlights the various platforms and technologies used globally for the development of the vaccine and also focuses on the current status of the vaccine candidates under development by organizations to combat the global threat of COVID-19 pandemic.

Deciphering Vaccines for COVID-19: where do we stand today?

Evolving targets for anti-epileptic drug discovery

Despite the availability of various medications and prescribing combination therapies, uncontrolled blood pressure and resistance are observed in more than 40% of patients. The purpose of this review is to discuss emerging novel approaches for the treatment of hypertension and propose future research and clinical directions. Hypertension is a common disease of the cardiovascular system which may arise solely or as a comorbidity of other disorders. It is a crucial risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, renal failure, and stroke. The results from current literature regarding the novel approaches showed several targets that could be explored as potential therapeutic options. These include toll-like receptor 4, a critical regulator of angiotensin II–induced hypertension; protease-activated receptor 2, which promotes collagen deposition and inflammatory responses; chemerin, which causes metabolic and obesity-associated hypertension; apelin receptor; transient receptor potential melastatin; urotensin-II; and Tie2 receptor. This review discusses various targets and pathways that could be emerging pharmacological therapies for hypertension.

Dezaree Raut

Papers

Deciphering Vaccines for COVID-19: where do we stand today?

Evolving targets for anti-epileptic drug discovery

Novel Targets for Hypertension Drug Discovery.