The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has killed many people worldwide since December 2019, and Iran has been among the most affected countries. In this retrospective study, we aimed to determine the prognostic factors associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients by analyzing 396 survived and 63 non-survived patients in Shahid Modarres Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from January 30 th until April 5 th , 2020. As the results, the BMI > 35 (p = 0.0003), lung cancer (p = 0.007), chronic kidney disease (p = 0.002), Immunocompromised condition (p = 0.003), and diabetes (p = 0.018) were more frequently observed in the expired group. The history of statins use was more common in the discharged group (p = 0.002), while there was no significant difference in the drug history of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, aspirin, and/or steroids, and in the past-year influenza vaccination. Multivariable regression demonstrated rising odds of in-hospital death related with age (odds ratio (OR) = 1.055, p = 0.002), levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR = 2.915, p < 0.001), creatinine (OR = 1.740, p = 0.023), lymphocyte count (OR = 0.999, p = 0.008), and magnesium level (OR = 0.032, p < 0.001) on admission. In conclusion, the patients with older age and higher BMI with lymphopenia, hypomagnesemia, elevated CRP and/or raised creatinine on admission are at higher risk of mortality due to the COVID-19 infection, which requires the physicians to use timely and strong therapeutic measures for such patients.

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Background and aims Given the limited information describing the connection between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), we aimed to assess the impact of MetS on morbidity and mortality among COVID-19 patients. Methods This retrospective cohort study was performed from 1st April to May 3, 2020 on 157 ICU-admitted COVID-19 patients in Shahid Modarres Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Patients’ clinical, laboratory and radiological findings, and subsequent complications, were collected and compared between MetS and non-MetS groups. Results 74 of all cases had MetS. Among the MetS components, waist circumference (p-value = 0.006 for men; p-value<0.0001 for women), Triglycerides (p-value = 0.002), and Fasting Blood Sugar (p-value = 0.007) were significantly higher in MetS group; with no statistical difference found in HDL levels (p-value = 0.21 for men; p-value = 0.13 for women), systolic blood pressure(p-value = 0.07), and diastolic blood pressure (p-value = 0.18) between two groups. Length of ICU admission (p-value = 0.009), the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (p-value = 0.0001), respiratory failure (p-value = 0.0008), and pressure ulcers (p-value = 0.02) were observed significantly more in MetS group. The Odds Ratio (OR) of mortality with 0(OR = 0.3660), 1(OR = 0.5155), 2(OR = 0.5397), 3(OR = 1.9511), 4(OR = 5.7018), and 5(OR = 8.3740) MetS components showed an increased mortality risk as the components’ count increased. The patient with BMI>40 (OR = 6.9368) had more odds of fatality comparing to those with BMI>35 (OR = 4.0690) and BMI>30 (OR = 2.5287). Furthermore, the waist circumference (OR = 8.31; p-value<0.0001) and fasting blood sugar (OR = 2.4588; p-value = 0.0245) were obtained by multivariate logistic regression as independent prognostic factors for mortality. Conclusion The findings suggest a strong relationship between having MetS and increased risk of severe complications and mortality among COVID-19 ICU-admitted patients.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the leading types of malignancy worldwide, particularly in Asian populations. Although the exact molecular mechanism of GC development remains unknown, microRNA (miRNA) has recently been shown to be involved. The current study aims to investigate the expression levels of bioinformatically ranked miRNAs in gastric tissues. Using bioinformatics tools, we prioritized miRNAs thought to be implicated in GC. Furthermore, polyA-qPCR was used to validate bioinformatics findings in 40 GC, 31 normal gastric tissue (NG) and 45 gastric dysplasia (GD) samples. As identified by bioinformatics analysis, miR-335 was shown to be the top-ranked miRNA implicated in GC. Moreover, a significant downregulation of miR-335, miR-124, miR-218 and miR-484 was found in GC and GD compared to NG samples. We found bioinformatics to be an efficient approach to finding candidate miRNAs relevant to GC development. Finally, the findings show that downregulation of miRNAs such as miR-124 and miR-218 in gastric tissue can be a significant indicator for neoplastic transformation.

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