scholarly journals Microbes, Clinical trials, Drug Discovery, and Vaccine Development: The Current Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-323
Author(s):  
Venkataramana Kandi ◽  
Tarun Kumar Suvvari ◽  
Sabitha Vadakedath ◽  
Vikram Godishala

Because of the frequent emergence of novel microbial species and the re-emergence of genetic variants of hitherto known microbes, the global healthcare system, and human health has been thrown into jeopardy. Also, certain microbes that possess the ability to develop multi-drug resistance (MDR) have limited the treatment options in cases of serious infections, and increased hospital and treatment costs, and associated morbidity and mortality. The recent discovery of the novel Coronavirus (n-CoV), the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is causing the CoV Disease-19 (COVID-19) has resulted in severe morbidity and mortality throughout the world affecting normal human lives. The major concern with the current pandemic is the non-availability of specific drugs and an incomplete understanding of the pathobiology of the virus. It is therefore important for pharmaceutical establishments to envisage the discovery of therapeutic interventions and potential vaccines against the novel and MDR microbes. Therefore, this review is attempted to update and explore the current perspectives in microbes, clinical research, drug discovery, and vaccine development to effectively combat the emerging novel and re-emerging genetic variants of microbes.

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Firas A. Rabi ◽  
Mazhar S. Al Zoubi ◽  
Ghena A. Kasasbeh ◽  
Dunia M. Salameh ◽  
Amjad D. Al-Nasser

In December 2019, a cluster of fatal pneumonia cases presented in Wuhan, China. They were caused by a previously unknown coronavirus. All patients had been associated with the Wuhan Wholefood market, where seafood and live animals are sold. The virus spread rapidly and public health authorities in China initiated a containment effort. However, by that time, travelers had carried the virus to many countries, sparking memories of the previous coronavirus epidemics, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and causing widespread media attention and panic. Based on clinical criteria and available serological and molecular information, the new disease was called coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19), and the novel coronavirus was called SARS Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), emphasizing its close relationship to the 2002 SARS virus (SARS-CoV). The scientific community raced to uncover the origin of the virus, understand the pathogenesis of the disease, develop treatment options, define the risk factors, and work on vaccine development. Here we present a summary of current knowledge regarding the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-234
Author(s):  
Zeba Firdaus ◽  
Sushil Kumar Singh ◽  
Tryambak Deo Singh ◽  
Meenakshi Singh

The novel coronavirus, which emerged in China in late December 2019, is officially named as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The rapid spread of the virus across the continent has disrupted human life in every aspect leading to health and economic crises. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus outbreak as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. In spite of complete lockdown and quarantine efforts in many countries, the occurrence of infections continues to rise, with more than 88 million laboratory-confirmed cases and over 1.9 million deaths worldwide as on January 10, 2021. Since the beginning of the outbreak, lot of intriguing studies about the phylogenetic evolution, epidemiology, pathogenesis, transmission, clinical characteristics, and possible treatment of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been published. This review aims to provide an insight into the progress in this regard and provides a reference for future studies including general awareness. We have discussed the origin, transmission, and infection mechanism of coronaviruses in host cells as well as available treatment options with relevant case studies. Furthermore, the stages of vaccine development, types of vaccines, and candidate vaccines with their phases of clinical trial are also incorporated. In a nutshell, the article is an attempt to retrieve the latest information available on virus behavior, efficacy of the available drugs, and development of candidate vaccines on SARS-CoV-2.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Maseh Haidary ◽  
Sarah Noor ◽  
Esmatullah Hamed ◽  
Tawab Baryali ◽  
Soma Rahmani ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction The novel coronavirus, since its first identification in China, in December 2019, has shown remarkable heterogeneity in its clinical behavior. It has affected humans on every continent. Clinically, it has affected every organ system. The outcome has also been variable, with most of the older patients showing grave outcomes as compared with the younger individuals. Here we present a rare and severe variant of Guillain–Barre syndrome that complicated the disease in recovery phase. Case presentation A 60-year-old Afghan man, who had been recovering from symptoms related to novel coronavirus associated disease, presented with sudden onset of progressive muscle weakness and oxygen desaturation. Electrophysiological workup confirmed the diagnosis of Guillain–Barre syndrome, and early institution of intravenous immunoglobulin resulted in complete resolution. Conclusion Guillain–Barre syndrome has recently been reported in many patients diagnosed with novel coronavirus associated disease. While clinical suspicion is mandatory to guide towards an effective diagnostic workup, early diagnosis of this complication and timely institution of therapeutic interventions are indispensable and lifesaving.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Luise Schulte ◽  
José Diego Brito-Sousa ◽  
Marcus Vinicius Guimarães Lacerda ◽  
Luciana Ansaneli Naves ◽  
Eliana Teles de Gois ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Since the novel coronavirus disease outbreak, over 179.7 million people have been infected by SARS-CoV-2 worldwide, including the population living in dengue-endemic regions, particularly Latin America and Southeast Asia, raising concern about the impact of possible co-infections. Methods Thirteen SARS-CoV-2/DENV co-infection cases reported in Midwestern Brazil between April and September of 2020 are described. Information was gathered from hospital medical records regarding the most relevant clinical and laboratory findings, diagnostic process, therapeutic interventions, together with clinician-assessed outcomes and follow-up. Results Of the 13 cases, seven patients presented Acute Undifferentiated Febrile Syndrome and six had pre-existing co-morbidities, such as diabetes, hypertension and hypopituitarism. Two patients were pregnant. The most common symptoms and clinical signs reported at first evaluation were myalgia, fever and dyspnea. In six cases, the initial diagnosis was dengue fever, which delayed the diagnosis of concomitant infections. The most frequently applied therapeutic interventions were antibiotics and analgesics. In total, four patients were hospitalized. None of them were transferred to the intensive care unit or died. Clinical improvement was verified in all patients after a maximum of 21 days. Conclusions The cases reported here highlight the challenges in differential diagnosis and the importance of considering concomitant infections, especially to improve clinical management and possible prevention measures. Failure to consider a SARS-CoV-2/DENV co-infection may impact both individual and community levels, especially in endemic areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol VI (I) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Naiha Tahir ◽  
Ayema Rehman ◽  
Muhammad Zain ◽  
Mubashir Rehman

The novel Coronavirus knew as Covid 19 or SARS-CoV-2, is a newly discovered virus responsible for the huge global pandemic infecting the human race at a deadly pace. This is an RNA enveloped virus that targets the human respiratory system severely while damaging other major systems. Covid 19 pandemic is similar to the severe acute respiratory syndrome related coronavirus (SARS-CoV) endemic and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), but this one is spreading at a fire-speed. The outbreak was known as pneumonia in the beginning; however, it became a threat later on, owing to its high contagion rate. The origin of this virus was sought to be from the seafood wholesale market, very popular in the city of Wuhan. This review has been put together to overview the disease, its etiology, clinical features and treatment methods. The focal point of this review is to highlight the current management of this disease.


Author(s):  
Madhusmita Mohanty Mohapatra ◽  
Manju Rajaram ◽  
Dharm Prakash Dwivedi ◽  
Vishnukant Govindraj ◽  
Pratap Upadhya

Severe acute respiratory syndrome- coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) which emerged in Wuhan initially as pneumonia of unknown origin in December 2019, later spread to whole world and became pandemic on 11th March, 2020. Many drugs have been proposed but are backed without clinical evidence. Scientific bodies are in the row to discover a reliable vaccine and effective drugs against the novel coronavirus. Many antiviral and anti-parasitic drugs which were thought to have some effect on Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been tried during the crisis but none have shown concrete evidence of action. Randomized clinical trials on the repurposed drugs are now registered under clinical trial registry to look at the safety profile and efficacy of the drugs to be used against SARS-CoV-2. Many meta-analyses are being conducted worldwide to frame evidence for the fight against this novel coronavirus. We are providing below a review of various drugs that have been tried for treatment of COVID-19 as well as different clinical trials which are underway.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayank Kapoor ◽  
Prasan Kumar Panda ◽  
Vivek Mohanty

Most viral infections have limited treatment options available and the same holds for COVID-19, its causative agent being the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Drugs used in the past against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) viruses, which belong to the same family of viruses as the novel Coronavirus included ribavirin, interferon (alfa and beta), lopinavir-ritonavir combination, and corticosteroids. There remains controversy regarding their efficacy to date, except for the last one. Hence, large-scale multicentric trials are being conducted involving multiple drugs. Chloroquine and hydroxy-chloroquine were initially taking the race ahead but have now been rejected. Remdesivir was a promising candidate, for which the FDA had issued an emergency use authorization, but now is not recommended by the WHO. Convalescent plasma therapy had promising results in the early severe viremia phase, but the PLACID trial made an obscure end. Only corticosteroids have shown demonstrable benefits in improving mortality rates among severe COVID-19 cases. Many new modalities like monoclonal antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors are discussed. In this chapter, we review the therapeutic drugs under investigation for the COVID-19 treatment, their mode of action, degree of effectiveness, and recommendations by different centers regarding their use in current settings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-126
Author(s):  
Zahraa Qusairy ◽  
Miran Rada

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has appeared to be one of the biggest global health threats worldwide with no specific therapeutic agents. As of August 2020, over 22.4 million confirmed cases and more than 788,000 deaths have been reported globally, and the toll is expected to increase before the pandemic is over. Given the aggressive nature of their underlying disease, cancer patients seem to be more vulnerable to COVID-19 and various studies have confirmed this hypothesis. Herein, we review the current information regarding the role of cancer in SARS-CoV-2 infections. Moreover, we discuss the effective supportive treatment options for COVID-19 including Dexamethasone, Tocilizumab and Remdesivir and convalescent plasma therapy (CPT), as well as discuss their efficacy in COVID-19 patients with cancer.


Author(s):  
Arpit Sikri

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), remains a global challenge. Even after extensive research going on globally, an effective vaccine and other viable treatment options have eluded investigators. Therefore, guidelines by the higher authorities and following the precautions as well as protocols provide the best approach in controlling the spread of the disease. In this article, various treatment modalities, preventive methods, and transmission routes of COVID-19 are discussed along with the impact of COVID-19 in dental practice and remedial measures to fight against the same.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dudala Sai Sushma ◽  
Varun Jaiswal ◽  
Arvind Verma ◽  
Asha Sharma ◽  
Tarun Pal

Background: Humans can be infected with various coronaviruses that cause serious illness and death. One such pandemic strain of coronavirus was recently identified in December 2019 and lead to a devastating outbreak in Wuhan city of China. It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is highly contagious which causes symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath. Objective: The objective of this review is to highlight the current understanding, research and therapeutic updates of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: A thorough literature search was conducted for research papers and patents in context to COVID-19. All articles with respect to this subject was taken from various public repositories such as Google Scholar, Pubmed, ScienceDirect (Elsevier), Springer, Web of Science, etc. Results: The present analysis showed that key areas of the inventions were the vaccines and diagnostic kits apart from the composition for the treatment of CoV. It was also observed that no specific vaccine treatments are available for the treatment of 2019-nCov; however, developing novel chemical or biological drugs and kits for early diagnosis, prevention, and disease management is the primary governing topic among the patented inventions. The present study also indicates potential research opportunities for the future, particularly to combat 2019-nCoV. The current focus of the researches has turned towards developing four potential treatments including development of candidate vaccine, development of novel potential drugs, repurposing of existing drugs and development of convalescent plasma therapy. The PCR based diagnosis is the gold standard for the COVID-19 testing but it require resource time, expertise and high associated cost hence the researchers are also developing different diagnosis methods for the COVID-19. Although vaccines are being developed by various companies and have passed the pre-clinical stages but still there exists no guarantee for these to become the effective vaccine. The current treatments which are being used for COVID-19 patients are not well established and have limited success. Conclusion: The pandemic has challenged the medical, economic and public health infrastructure across globe. There is urgent need to explore all available and possible methods/approaches to study this disease for drug and vaccine development at the earliest.


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