COVID & other Diseases

Human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causative pathogen of the COVID-19 pandemic, exerts a massive health and socioeconomic crisis. The virus infects alveolar epithelial type 2 cells (AT2s), leading to lung injury and impaired gas exchange, but the mech …

BU researchers, discovering the full extent of molecular activities triggered inside lung cells by COVID-19 infection, say there are at least 18 existing, FDA-approved drugs that could potentially be repurposed to combat COVID-19.

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"The consumption pattern characterized by high consumption of vegetables, fruit, fish, olive oil and red wine has been associated with improvements in the total antioxidant capacity of individuals and reduced incidence of diseases related to oxidation. Also, high body iron levels may contribute to increase the oxidative stress by the generation of reactive oxygen species. "

Summary: High-affinity iron acquisition is mediated by siderophore-dependent pathways in the majority of pathogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria and fungi. Considerable progress has been made in characterizing and understanding mechanisms of siderophore ...

Mucormycosis, most commonly caused by Rhizopus oryzae, is a life-threatening infection that occurs in patients immunocompromised by diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA),...

What is oxidative stress, and why does it matter? We explain how this imbalance affects your body and ways to prevent it.

Abstract. Fungi of the basal lineage order Mucorales are able to cause infections in animals and humans. Mucormycosis is a well-known, life-threatening disease

"a retrospective review of outcomes in patients with rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis suggested that combination therapy with lipid polyene plus caspofungin was superior to monotherapy with lipid polyenes" "patients with elevated levels of available serum iron are uniquely susceptible to infection by R. oryzae and other Zygomycetes, but not to other pathogenic fungi, such as Candida or Aspergillus"

"these observations provide novel insight into the unique susceptibility of patients with DKA to mucormycosis and could provide a foundation for novel therapeutic interventions." "the emergence of mucormycosis in patients with hematologic malignancies who are receiving voriconazole prophylaxis"

"Among the more recent therapeutic developments in mucormycosis treatment are: the lipid formulations of amphotericin B, which are now the drugs of choice; the new triazole posaconazole, with promising efficacy as salvage treatment; the iron chelators deferasirox and deferiprone; the echinocandins in combination with amphotericin B (AmB) and recombinant growth factors such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)."

Background Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is frequently associated with hyperinflammation and hyperferritinemia. The latter is related to increased mortality in COVID-19. Still, it is not clear if iron dysmetabolism is mechanistically linked to COVID-19 pathobiology" "Alterations of iron homeostasis can persist for at least two months after the onset of COVID-19 and are closely associated with non-resolving lung pathologies and impaired physical performance. Determination of serum iron parameters may thus be a easy to access measure to monitor the resolution of COVID-19."

***!!!*** "Mucormycosis is a life-threatening respiratory fungal infection that typically occurs in patients with abnormalities in iron metabolism. Here the authors show that iron...

****!!!!**** "Among the known iron chelators, deferoxamine supports the growth of Zygomycetes because it acts as xenosiderophore, delivering iron to iron-uptaking molecules of these species. Conversely, the newer iron chelators deferiprone and deferasirox do not exhibit similar activity, apparently because they share higher affinity constants for iron and, as a result, deprive the fungi of iron, inhibiting their growth. This activity has been documented in various culture systems and in many animal models of zygomycosis, and therefore suggests that these drugs might be used as adjuvant treatment for systemic zygomycosis. There are few case reports in which the newer iron chelators have been used as antifungals,"

****!!!!*** "Considering the low efficacy of monotherapy, combination-therapy strategies have been described. It is known that fungi are susceptible to zinc deprivation ..."

"The relationship between filamentous fungi and broiler chicks has long been recognized."

As many as 32 patients have died of mucormycosis in the last 20 days at a government-run hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city, an official said on Wednesday.

****!!!!**** "The treatment of mucormycosis and other fungal infection is provided free of cost in all Central Government hospitals and autonomous institutions under the ministry, he said in a separate reply. Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY provides free health cover up to Rs. 5 lakh per year per family. The scheme was launched with 10.74 crore beneficiary families. However, 33 states/UTs have increased the beneficiary base to 13.44 families. Beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY can avail free treatment of post-Covid related complications including Mucormycosis, Black Fungus etc. under the scheme. States are also being supported in terms of allocation and supply of Amphotericin B. Amphotericin B is being provided at an affordable price under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojna (PMBJP)."

Over three hundred people, who had fully recovered from Covid-19 infection, have succumbed to mucormycosis in Karnataka.

Mucormycosis, wrongly reported as black fungus, has created some level of panic and fear among people. Also, the colour of the fungus is immaterial and not linked to the severity of the disease.

****!!!!**** "When working with mycotoxicosis, choosing the correct binder can present a challenge."

{This article related to molds that do NOT cause mucormycosis} "Toxigenic molds (can) produce mycotoxins, which are toxic substances that increase inflammatory processes such as asthma, gastro-intestinal issues, mental health problems such as depression, and a number of other diseases. Two of the primary types of toxigenic molds are: Stachybotrys chartarum, Aspergillus"

"The Great Plains Laboratory has been educating practitioners for over 15 years on how to help patients heal through cutting-edge testing, research and protocols. In our recent 2-Day OAT + TOX Workshop, speakers extolled the virtues of comprehensive metabolic tests like the Organic Acids Test (OA"

This review focuses on aspects of antimycotic therapy specific to veterinary medicine. In the first part, drug availability, limited mostly by economic consideration but also by clinical applicability and specific adverse effects, is described for polyenes, ...