No abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic revolutionized the vaccine market and initiated the momentum for alternative routes of administration for vaccines. The intranasal route of immunization is one such possibility that appears to be the most promising since it has some significant advantages, particularly in the prevention of respiratory infection. To analyze and summarize the role of nasal vaccines over conventional vaccines during COVID-19 and the need for the nasal vaccine as a booster shot. In this narrative review, the required data was retrieved using keywords “COVID-19,” “Intranasal,” “Immunity,” “Nasal spray,” and “Mucosal” in databases including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Science Direct, and Web of Sciences. The results of the study showed that the nasal vaccines were both effective and protective according to the current researches approaching during the COVID-19 period and the preclinical and clinical phase trials prove the intranasal vaccination elicits more robust and cross-protective immunity than conventional vaccines. In this narrative review article, mechanisms across the nasal mucosa will be briefly presented and the current status of nasal vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic is summarized, and advantages over traditional vaccines are provided. Furthermore, after exploring the primary benefits and kinetics of nasal vaccine, the potential for consideration of nasal vaccine as a booster dose is also discussed.

The global community is in a vulnerable and intricate state due to the COVID-19 pandemic given the lack of targeted drugs and extreme population making it an arduous journey to the public system of health care towards the extermination of the disease. The essentiality of newer compounds, novel medical instruments, and practices for diagnosis, cure, and prevention of the COVID-19 infection is the greatest concern. Since the persistent waves of COVID-19 are being observed at a variety of location across the globe, and the intensity and mutation of the virus is still possessing an inviolable threat to humanity. Along with conventional medicine, the application of traditional medicine practices using natural and herbal products has been proved effective in several disease conditions. The usage of Traditional Chinese medicine and ayurvedic medicine is used to treat COVID-19 infected patients in China and India respectively marks the contribution and effectiveness of traditional medical therapy in the restriction of the virus. The prominence of herbal products for prophylactic and symptomatic treatment for COVID-19 is notable and recommended by various organizations and governments in the world. All the pragmatic considerations and evidence to use ayurvedic practices on a large scale require further animal and robust human studies. This article reviews various practices, herbal products, effectiveness, case studies and the contribution of ayurvedic medicine, to be used to treat and restrict the viral epidemic and may further provide a forward insight into future learning, evidence compiling, and research in the respective domain.

Background: Heavy metal exposure is a significant environmental health concern that can be deadly due to bioaccumulation of toxic metals in the human body ultimately leading to alterations in physiology, disease severity, and risk of comorbid diseases. Certain metals including arsenic have been linked to hyperglycemia and a greater risk of diabetes. Bihar is one of the most-affected areas in terms of arsenic pollution. Numerous studies elucidated the effect of arsenic. This study is a single-centered pilot prospective cohort study aimed at evaluating the potential role of arsenic exposure and assessment of micronutrient levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. A total of n=30 type-2 diabetic patients and healthy individuals aged > 18 years residing in arsenic endemic zones of Bihar, were initially recruited to assess arsenic levels in hair samples. Blood glucose parameters were found to be significantly greater (HbA1C, p=0.002* and postprandial blood sugar p=0.046) among the arsenic-exposed population than the others. Total cholesterol, Low density lipoprotein and triglycerides have positive correlations with arsenic levels, whereas High density lipoprotein displays a negative correlation with arsenic level. Zinc levels of diabetic patients are low compared to the healthy control group. Weak negative correlations are found with blood sugar parameters and zinc levels. Arsenic levels are also negatively correlated to zinc levels (r=-0.458, p=0.042). Concludedly, Arsenic exposure has deleterious effect on blood glucose levels and lipid parameters. Preventive measures should be implemented to limit the exposure. Deficiently found trace elements such as zinc must be supplemented as a part of therapy for improving blood glucose parameters.