Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), a novel inflammatory marker, has been suggested to predict the severity of COVID-19 patients. This systematic review aims to evaluate the association between PLR levels on admission and the severity of COVID-19 patients. A systematic literature search was done on 23 July 2020 to identify peer-reviewed studies, preprints, and grey literatures. Research articles comparing the PLR value on admission in adult patients with COVID-19 with varying degrees of severity were included in the analysis. The following keywords were used for the search: “COVID-19”, “PLR”, “severity”, and “mortality”. A total of seven studies were included in the meta-analysis, six of which were conducted in China. From a total of 998 participants included, 316 (31.7%) had severe diseases; and those in the severe group were generally older and had underlying diseases compared to the non-severe group. In comparison to non-severe patients, the meta-analysis showed that severe COVID-19 patients had higher PLR levels on admission (SMD 0.68; 95%CI 0.43-0.93; I2 =58%). High PLR levels on admission were associated with severe COVID-19 cases. Therefore, the on-admission PLR level is a novel, cost-effective, and readily available biomarker with a promising prognostic role for determining the severity of COVID-19 patients.

These data indicate that curcumin has nephroprotective properties against cisplatin-induced kidney damage in rats and this effect is associated with its anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis profiles, in addition to its antioxidant. Hence, curcumin may be useful for preventing kidney damage against cisplatin administration.

Background Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), a novel inflammatory marker, has been suggested to be able to predict the severity of COVID-19 patients. This systematic review aims to evaluate the association between PLR levels on admission and the severity of COVID-19 patients. Methods A systematic literature search was done on 23 July 2020 to identify peer-reviewed studies across four different databases (Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and the Cochrane Library), preprints from two databases (MedRxiv and SSRN), and grey literature from two databases (WHO COVID-19 Global Research Database and Center for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Research Article). Research articles comparing the PLR value on admission in adult patients with COVID-19 with varying degrees of severity were included in the analysis. The following keywords were used for the search: 'COVID-19', 'PLR', 'severity', and 'mortality'. The inverse variance method was used to calculate the pooled effect standardized mean difference (SMD) along with its 95% confidence interval (CI). Results A total of seven studies were included in the meta-analysis, six of which were conducted in China. From a total of 998 participants included, 316 (31.7%) had severe diseases; and those in the severe group were generally older and had underlying diseases compared to the non-severe group. In comparison to non-severe patients, the meta-analysis showed that severe COVID-19 patients had higher PLR levels on admission (SMD 0.68; 95%CI 0.43-0.93; I2 =58%). Conclusion High PLR levels on admission were associated with severe COVID-19 cases. Therefore, on-admission PLR level is a novel, cost-effective, and readily available biomarker with a promising prognostic role for determining the severity of COVID-19 patients.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of nanocurcumin (NC) against cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury, focusing on Nrf2 and Keap1.Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=23) were divided into five groups (Control, CP, CP+Cur, CP+50 NC, and CP+100 NC) and sacrificed 7 days aftertreatment. Whole kidneys were collected for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of Nrf2 and Keap1.Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the RT-PCR results among the groups (p>0.05). However, Keap1 expression wasupregulated in rats treated with 100 mg of NC, which may have been caused by increased Nrf2 activation and activation of a negative feedback loop,which upregulated transcription of Keap1.Conclusion: NC increased Keap1 levels, but not significantly.

Cisplatin is a platinum-based drug that is usually used for the treatment of many carcinomas. However, it comes with several devastating side effects, including nephrotoxicity. Cisplatin toxicity is a very complex process, which is exacerbated by the accumulation of cisplatin in renal tubular cells via passive diffusion and transporter-mediated processes. Once cisplatin enters these cells, it induces the formation of reactive oxygen species that cause cellular damage, including DNA damage, inflammation, and eventually cell death. On a small scale, these damages can be mitigated by cellular antioxidant defense mechanism. However, on a large scale, such as in chemotherapy, this defense mechanism may fail, resulting in nephrotoxicity. The current article reviews the molecular mechanisms underlying cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and possible renoprotective strategies to determine novel therapeutic interventions for alleviating this toxicity.