Convalescent Plasma Therapy for COVID-19: Current Status and Future Directions

AbstractThe ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has triggered a global health crisis probably due to a lack of a reliable cure till date. Several clinical trials are ongoing, but initial results have not been overly promising. Convalescent plasma (CP), which refers to plasma collected from individuals recovered from an illness and developed antibodies against the pathogen, is also being proposed as a therapeutic option for COVID-19 treatment in severe cases to achieve short-term immunity against the virus. Use of CP is not new, and it has been used in various outbreaks over the past century, ranging from the Spanish influenza outbreak in 1918 to the recent Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). However, data available on its use in COVID-19 patients is limited. Use of CP so far is restricted to a “rescue therapy” and needs further trials to assess its possible use in other situations (prevention, postexposure prophylaxis) and patient populations (considering age and comorbid illnesses). In this review, we will try to summarize the current status of use of CP for COVID-19 and ongoing trials in India and elsewhere and will discuss the possible avenues for its use in future.

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Biased ligands at opioid receptors: Current status and future directions

Science Signaling ◽

10.1126/scisignal.aav0320 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (677) ◽

pp. eaav0320

Author(s):

Tao Che ◽

Hemlata Dwivedi-Agnihotri ◽

Arun K. Shukla ◽

Bryan L. Roth

Keyword(s):

Opioid Receptors ◽

Current Status ◽

Functional Responses ◽

Future Directions ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Biased Agonism ◽

Opioid Ligands ◽

Therapeutic Benefits ◽

Ligand Discovery ◽

Opioid Medications

The opioid crisis represents a major worldwide public health crisis that has accelerated the search for safer and more effective opioids. Over the past few years, the identification of biased opioid ligands capable of eliciting selective functional responses has provided an alternative avenue to develop novel therapeutics without the side effects of current opioid medications. However, whether biased agonism or other pharmacological properties, such as partial agonism (or low efficacy), account for the therapeutic benefits remains questionable. Here, we provide a summary of the current status of biased opioid ligands that target the μ- and κ-opioid receptors and highlight advances in preclinical and clinical trials of some of these ligands. We also discuss an example of structure-based biased ligand discovery at the μ-opioid receptor, an approach that could revolutionize drug discovery at opioid and other receptors. Last, we briefly discuss caveats and future directions for this important area of research.

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Update on Novel Non-Operative Treatment for Osteoarthritis: Current Status and Future Trends

Frontiers in Pharmacology ◽

10.3389/fphar.2021.755230 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Tao Chen ◽

Weidong Weng ◽

Yang Liu ◽

Romina H. Aspera-Werz ◽

Andreas K Nüssler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tissue Engineering ◽

Operative Treatment ◽

Therapeutic Option ◽

Cartilage Damage ◽

Cartilage Regeneration ◽

Pharmacological Therapy ◽

Current Status ◽

Future Directions ◽

Joint Arthroplasties

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of pain and disability which results in a reduced quality of life. Due to the avascular nature of cartilage, damaged cartilage has a finite capacity for healing or regeneration. To date, conservative management, including physical measures and pharmacological therapy are still the principal choices offered for OA patients. Joint arthroplasties or total replacement surgeries are served as the ultimate therapeutic option to rehabilitate the joint function of patients who withstand severe OA. However, these approaches are mainly to relieve the symptoms of OA, instead of decelerating or reversing the progress of cartilage damage. Disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs) aiming to modify key structures within the OA joints are in development. Tissue engineering is a promising strategy for repairing cartilage, in which cells, genes, and biomaterials are encompassed. Here, we review the current status of preclinical investigations and clinical translations of tissue engineering in the non-operative treatment of OA. Furthermore, this review provides our perspective on the challenges and future directions of tissue engineering in cartilage regeneration.

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An In-vitro evaluation of a polyherbal formulation, against SARS-CoV-2

10.21203/rs.3.rs-936472/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Divya Kanchibhotla ◽

Saumya Subramanian ◽

Ravi Reddy ◽

Hari Venkatesh K.R. ◽

Monika Pathania

Keyword(s):

Therapeutic Option ◽

Test Material ◽

Past Century ◽

African Green Monkey Kidney ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Polyherbal Formulation ◽

The World ◽

Kidney Epithelial Cell ◽

Infected Cells

Abstract Background: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 is one of the major health crisis that has affected the world in the past century. With the emergence of new strains of viruses and antimicrobial resistance, the world is looking for an alternate therapeutic option to fight infectious disease.Objective: The present study evaluated the efficacy of a novel polyherbal formulation, named NOQ19, against SARS-CoV-2 in an in vitro setting. NOQ 19 is an unique blend of 13 Ayurvedic herbs.Methodology: Vero E6 (CL1008), the African green monkey kidney epithelial cell, were infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus (isolate USA-WA1/2020) in a 96 well-plate. NOQ19 test material was diluted in different concentration as follows 0.05mg/ml, 0.1mg/ml, 0.2mg/ml, 0.3mg/ml, 0.4mg/ml, 0.5mg/ml, 0.6mg/ml, 0.7mg/ml, 0.8mg/ml and 0.9mg/ml. These different concentrations of NOQ19 were added to infected cells respectively and incubated for 3 days in 5% CO2 incubator. Remdesivir was used as a positive control.The cells were finally fixed with formaldehyde, stained with crystal violet and plaques were visualized. The number of plaques were counted to determine the PFU(plaque forming units)/mL.Results: Results demonstrated 100% antiviral efficacy of NOQ19 at 0.9mg/ml concentration with complete elimination of the virus. The IC50 of the drug was found to be 0.2mg/ml. The results of the present study demonstrated viral load reduction in SARS- CoV-2 infected Vero E6 cell lines.Conclusion: The result along with clinical trials could propose NOQ19 as a potential therapeutic option in the fighting the COVID-19 challenge.

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Golimumab as Rescue Therapy for Refractory Immune-Mediated Uveitis: A Three-Center Experience

Mediators of Inflammation ◽

10.1155/2014/717598 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Miguel Cordero-Coma ◽

Vanesa Calvo-Río ◽

Alfredo Adán ◽

Ricardo Blanco ◽

Carolina Álvarez-Castro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Retinal Thickness ◽

Rescue Therapy ◽

Therapeutic Option ◽

Case Series ◽

Tertiary Referral ◽

Short Term ◽

Complete Control ◽

Safety And Efficacy ◽

Immune Mediated ◽

Different Types

Objective. To evaluate, in three Spanish tertiary referral centres, the short-term safety and efficacy of golimumab (GLM) for treatment of immune-mediated uveitis resistant to previous immunosuppressive therapy.Methods. Nonrandomized retrospective interventional case series. Thirteen patients with different types of uveitis that were resistant to treatment with at least 2 previous immunosuppressors were included in this study. All included patients were treated with GLM (50 mg every four weeks) during at least 6 months. Clinical evaluation and treatment-related side effects were assessed at least four times in all included patients.Results. Eight men and 5 women (22 affected eyes) with a median age of 30 years (range 20–38) and active immune-mediated uveitides were studied. GLM was used in combination with conventional immunosuppressors in 7 patients (53.8%). GLM therapy achieved complete control of inflammation in 12/13 patients (92.3%) after six months of treatment. There was a statistically significant improvement in mean BCVA (0.60 versus 0.68,P=0.009) and mean 1 mm central retinal thickness (317 versus 261.2 μ,P=0.05) at the six-month endpoint when compared to basal values. No major systemic adverse effects associated with GLM therapy were observed.Conclusions. GLM is a new and promising therapeutic option for patients with severe and refractory uveitis.

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