Chronic inflammation is a pathological condition characterized by continued active inflammation response and tissue destruction. Many of the immune cells including macrophages, neutrophils and eosinophils are involved directly or by production of inflammatory cytokine production in pathology of chronic inflammation. From literatures, it is appear that there is a general concept that chronic inflammation can be a major cause of cancers and express aging processes. Moreover, many studies suggest that chronic inflammation could have serious role in wide variety of age-related diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases. Inflammatory process induces oxidative stress and reduces cellular antioxidant capacity. Overproduced free radicals react with cell membrane fatty acids and proteins impairing their function permanently. In addition, free radicals can lead to mutation and DNA damage that can be a predisposing factor for cancer and age-related disorders. This article reviews the antioxidant defense systems, free radicals production and their role in cancer and age related diseases and also some of the recent patent relevant to the field. Study of the role of free radicals in human diseases can help the investigators to consider the antioxidants as proper agents in preventive medicine, especially for cancer and aging processes.

BackgroundThere are no determined treatment agents for the severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); therefore, it is suggested that methylprednisolone, as an immunosuppressive treatment, can reduce the inflammation of the respiratory system.MethodsWe conducted a single-blind, randomised, controlled, clinical trial involving severe hospitalised patients with confirmed COVID-19 at the early pulmonary phase of the illness in Iran. The patients were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio by block randomisation method to receive standard care with methylprednisolone pulse (intravenous injection, 250 mg·day−1 for 3 days) or standard care alone. The study endpoint was the time of clinical improvement or death, whichever came first. Primary and safety analysis was done in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population.ResultsSixty-eight eligible patients underwent randomisation (34 patients in each group) from April 20, till Jun 20, 2020. In the standard care group, six patients received corticosteroids by the attending physician during treatment and excluded from the ITT population. Patients with clinical improvement were higher in the methylprednisolone group than in the standard care group (94·1% versus 57·1%), and the mortality rate was numerically lower in the methylprednisolone group (5·9% versus 42.9%; p <0·001). We demonstrated that patients in the methylprednisolone intervention group had a significantly increased survival time compared with the patients in the standard care group [Log rank test: p<0.001; Hazard ratio: 0.293; 95% C‎‎I: 0.‎154–0.556]. A total of two patients in each group (5·8% and 7·1% respectively) showed severe adverse events between initiation of treatment and the end of the study.ConclusionsOur results suggested that methylprednisolone pulse could be an efficient therapeutic agent for hospitalised severe COVID-19 patients at the pulmonary phase.

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Inequalities in features and severity of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have been noticed between men and women, suggesting a possible influence of gender on disease phenotypes. Comparing disease features and characterization of gender differences in clinical features and medications could help elucidate the potential influence of gender on the severity of AS in patients. This study aims to assess the influence of gender on disease patterns in Iranian patients with AS. Three hundred and twenty patients diagnosed with primary AS were assessed for demographic variables, clinical manifestations, HLA status, disease severity, functional capacities, quality of life, and treatment status. Sixty-seven women and 253 men were included corresponding to a male to female ratio of 3.78:1. Both groups were similar regarding ethnicity, positive family history, and juvenile onset AS. HLA-B27 was more frequent among males (78.3 vs. 55.2%; p < 0.001). There was a higher proportion of female patients with overall enthesitis (p < 0.05). Extra-articular manifestations and treatment modalities presented similar frequencies in both genders. No difference in gender-associated diagnostic delays was observed. Female disease was at least as severe as male disease, and in some aspects, females presented with more severe disease. Despite a relatively similar disease profile, we observed a higher rate of enthesitis among women. Together with the equally high rate of disease activity indices in both genders, these findings indicate an overall longer delay to diagnosis in our country. Early detection and specialized care would be of great practical importance.