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BackgroundAn outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran has spread throughout the country. Identifying the epidemiological characteristics of this disease will help to make appropriate decisions and thus control the epidemic. The aim of this study was characterization of the epidemiological features of COVID-19 in Iran.MethodsIn this retrospective study, data related to the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients admitted to Baqiyatallah Hospital in Tehran, Iran, from 19 February 2020 to 15 April 2020 have been analyzed and reported. Patient characteristics including age, gender and underlying diseases were investigated. Data were collected through patient records. Sex ratio, Case Fatality Rate (CFR) and daily trend of cases were also determined. A multiple logistic regression analysis was also performed to assess affecting factors on mortality.ResultsFrom February 19, 2020 to April 15, 2020, 12870 patients referred to the hospital emergency department, of which 2968 were hospitalized with COVID-19 diagnosis. The majority of cases were in the age group of 50 to 60 years of old. The male-to-female ratio was 1.93:1. A total of 239 deaths occurred among all cases for an overall CFR of 1.85% based on the total number of patients (both outpatient and inpatient) and 8.06% among hospitalized patients. Out of all patients 10.89% had comorbidity. Diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, chronic Kidney diseases and cancer were the most common comorbidities with 3.81, 2.02 , 1.99 , 1.25, 0.60 and 0.57 %, respectively. Male gender (OR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.08-1.96), older age (OR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.04-1.06) and having underlying diseases (OR=1.53, 95% CI: 1.04-2.24) were significantly associated with mortality.ConclusionsThe results of this study showed that Male gender, older age and having comorbidities were significantly associated with the risk of death among COVID-19 patients. It is important to pay special attention to male elderly patients with underlying diseases.

Background: Semen hyperviscosity is a threatening cause of abnormal spermatozoa and infertility in men. We aimed to evaluate oxidative stress, antioxidants depletion and sperm apoptosis as main reasons for poor quality of spermatozoa in men with hyperviscous semen. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, ejaculate specimens were collected from fertile (n=102) and infertile men with hyperviscous semen (n=123) and without semen hyperviscosity (n=143). Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl (PC), 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), and were measured in semen samples to estimate oxidative stress status. Gene expression pattern of BAX, CASPASE-9, CASPASE-3, and BCL2 was assessed to estimate sperm apoptosis. Results: The average of sperm count, normal morphology, normal motility, and sperm vitality in men with hyperviscous semen was significantly lower than infertile subjects without hyperviscous semen (P<0.01). Men with hyperviscous semen exhibited higher levels of PC (8.34 ± 1.03 nmol/mg vs. 6.01 ± 0.93 nmol/mg, P=0.008), MDA (1.14 ± 0.27 nmol/ ml vs. 0.89 ± 0.22 nmol/ml, P=0.031), 8-OHdG (259.71 ± 24.59 ng/ml vs. 197.13 ± 18.47 ng/ml, P=0.009), but lower TAC contents (1250.44 ± 66.23 μM/L vs. 1784.31 ± 89.87 μM/L, P=0.018) and GSH (3.82 ± 1.05 μM vs. 5.89 ± 0.87 μM, P=0.021) than men with non-viscous semen. The expression of BAX, CASPASE-3 and CASPASE-9 genes in men with hyperviscous semen was significantly increased by 1.39-fold (P=0.041), 1.47-fold (P=0.046), 1.29-fold (P=0.048), respectively, as compared with the infertile subjects without hyperviscous semen. However, BCL2 expression in infertile men without hyperviscous semen was higher compared to those with hyperviscous semen (1.36-fold, P=0.044). Conclusion: Hyperviscous semen is markedly associated with depletion of seminal plasma antioxidants, sperm membrane lipid peroxidation, DNA and protein oxidation, and sperm apoptosis. Antioxidant therapy might be considered as a valuable strategy to protect sperm cells against oxidative damage in cases with seminal fluid hyperviscosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the recommended treatment methods for covid-19 is herbal treatments, which, if used, can be used as an effective preventive or supportive treatment in the treatment plan of patients with covid-19. PHR160 spray is a combination of cineole, menthol, Safran, safranal, and crocin each of these substances affects respiratory diseases alone. Aim: Investigating the effectiveness of PHR-160 spray, in the treatment of Covid-19. Methods: The present study is a multicenter, double-blind, randomized clinical trial study, which was conducted in 4 medical centers. The study population includes all hospitalized patients with covid-19 who met the study inclusion criteria. The data collection tool was a checklist including 1- demographic information, 2- vital signs, symptoms, CT scan changes, and drug side effects (neural, cardiac, and respiratory) at the beginning of admission and from the first to the 10th day. Result: There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in the study of demographic variables, vital signs, symptoms, CT scan changes, and drug side effects before using PHR-160 spray (P>0.05). Also, after using PHR-160 spray for ten days, there was no significant difference in the admission to the intensive care unit, and patient mortality in the two groups (P>0.05) Conclusion: Based on the results, PHR-160 spray has no beneficial effects in controlling the symptoms of patients with covid-19 and cannot play an effective role in improving the patient's condition and reducing the complications caused by the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction:Among various proposed pathologic mechanisms during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, overproduction of autoantibodies is not widely studied. Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) are target proteins that have affinity toward charged phospholipids. APLs are thought to have pro-thrombotic potentials that increase during thromboembolism. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum aPLs level and COVID-19 mortality, severity, and thrombotic events. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted on all open access published articles in Medline, Scopus and Google Scholar. Studies evaluating individuals over the age of 18 years who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and had positive aPLs; and provided data on mortality or thrombotic events were included. Results: Of the initially identified 512 articles, 22 studies (overall 1462 patients) were finally included in the analysis. The prevalence of positive aPLs was 48.1%. Among the 372 patients with positive aPLs, 156 patients (41.9%) had severe COVID-19 that indicated a significant relationship between COVID-19 severity and aPLs positivity (p<0.05). The prevalence of thrombotic events in aPLs positive patients was 26.3% that indicated a significant relationship between aPLs positivity and the development of thrombotic events (p=0.03). APLs positivity was related to anytime mortality in COVID-19 patients (p=0.01). Conclusion: The present review demonstrated that aPLs are linked to COVID-19 severity and thrombotic events but not short-term mortality. Further studies with longer follow up periods are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have indicated that epigenetic alterations are critical for normal function and development of spermatozoa during the fertilization process. This review will focus on the latest advances in epigenome profiling of the chromatin modifications during sperm development, as well as the potential roles of epigenetic mechanisms in the context of male infertility. In this review, all data were collected from published studies that considered the effect of epigenetic abnormalities on human spermatogenesis, sperm parameters quality, fertilization process, embryo development and live births. The database PubMed was searched for all experimental and clinical studies using the Keywords "epigenetic modifications", "male infertility", "spermatogenesis", "embryo development" and "reproductive function". Post-translational modifications of histone, DNA methylations and chromatin remodeling are among the most common forms of epigenetic modifications that regulate all stages of spermatogenesis and fertilization process. Incorrect epigenetic modifications of certain genes involved in the spermatogenesis and sperm maturation may be a main reason of male reproductive disorder and infertility. Most importantly, abnormal patterns of epigenetic modifications or transgenerational phenotypes and miRNAs expression may be transmitted from one generation to the next through assisted reproductive techniques (ART) and cause an increased risk of birth defects, infertility and congenital anomalies in children. Epigenetic modifications must be considered as a one of the main factors of unexplained male infertility etiology. Due to high risk of transmitting incorrect primary imprints to offspring, there is a need for more research into epigenetic alterations in couples who benefit of ART support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc (Zn) is necessary for the normal function of the male reproductive system and spermatozoa. Although influences of zinc deficiency on impaired spermatogenesis and male infertility have been widely considered, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of these abnormalities are not well understood. General abnormalities, including hypogonadism, Leydig cells damage, deficiency of sex hormone production and impaired spermatogenesis, as well as inflammation, antioxidant depletion, sperm death and male infertility can be observed during zinc deficiency. However, it is not obvious which pathways are relevant to the pathogenesis of zinc deficiency. Oxidative stress (OS) induced by reactive oxygen species is likely as the main mechanism of zinc deficiency which is associated with sperm DNA fragmentation, decrease in sperm membrane integrity, apoptosis, depletion of antioxidants, and consequently poor sperm quality and male infertility. Therefore, identification of these pathways will give valuable information regarding the mechanisms of zinc deficiency on the male reproductive system and the potential way for developing a better clinical approach. In this review, we aim to discuss the proposed cellular and molecular mechanisms of zinc deficiency on the male reproductive system, the importance of OS and mechanisms by which zinc deficiency induces OS and depletion of other antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysregulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) is now considered as one of the main toxicity effects of sulfur mustard (SM). Numerous studies have found overexpression of MMPs, but the mechanism is unclear. Accumulation of leukocytes, downregulation of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), increase of pro-inflammatory mediators, as well as massive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress (OS) are possible mechanisms by which SM induces MMPs expression long-years after exposure. We aim to discuss cellular and molecular mechanisms of SM toxicity, the importance of MMPs and mechanisms by which SM enhances expression of these proteases in SM-victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]