Aims: Studies have indicated that chloroquine (CQ) shows antagonism against COVID-19 in vitro.However, evidence regarding its effects in patients is limited. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.Main methods: From February 4 to February 28, 2020, 62 patients suffering from COVID-19 were diagnosed and admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. All participants were randomized in a parallel-group trial, 31 patients were assigned to receive an additional 5-day HCQ (400 mg/d) treatment, Time to clinical recovery (TTCR), clinical characteristics, and radiological results were assessed at baseline and 5 days after treatment to evaluate the effect of HCQ.
Key findings:For the 62 COVID-19 patients, 46.8% (29 of 62) were male and 53.2% (33 of 62) were female, the mean age was 44.7 (15.3) years. No difference in the age and sex distribution between the control group and the HCQ group. But for TTCR, the body temperature recovery time and the cough . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. (which was not certified by peer review)
Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) often have clinical characteristics, such as chest tightness and dyspnea. Continuous, unresolved dyspnea often indicates the progression of lung lesions. The mechanism that underlies the chest distress and dyspnea in patients with COVID-19 is still unclear. Chest CT has a higher sensitivity and can play an essential role in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. However, our clinical observations showed that although some patients had significant chest distress and dyspnea, the lesions that were observed in the lungs during computed tomography were milder and not completely consistent with clinical symptoms. We analyzed the clinical characteristics, laboratory test results, and imaging findings of these patients. We found that extensive inflammation of the bilateral and respiratory bronchioles in patients with COVID-19 due to excessive activation of proinflammatory cytokines and chemotactic aggregation of T-lymphocytes at the site of inflammation are possible mechanisms underlying chest distress and dyspnea in patients with COVID-19. Short-time and lose-dose use of corticosteroid may be helpful to treat chest tightness and dyspnea in mild COVID-19 patients. Through this study, we aimed to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of COVID-19.
The most frequently identified central nervous system tumor in adults is glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). GBM prognosis remains poor despite multimodal treatment, i.e., surgery and radiation therapy with concurrent temozolomide-based chemotherapy. Silvestrol, an eIF4A inhibitor, has been demonstrated to be able to kill tumor cells in previous studies. In this study, it was found that silvestrol considerably attenuated the proliferative potential of U251 and U87 glioma cells and reduced expression of cyclin D1. In addition, silvestrol reduced the level of ERK1/2 and decreased the levels of AKT phosphorylation. Unfortunately, the effect of silvestrol in inhibiting GBM cells was greatly reduced with hypoxia, and the downregulation in AKT/mTOR and ERK1/2 were also rescued with an upregulation of HIF1α, which warranted further research. Taken together, silvestrol exerted antitumor effects in GBM cells by inhibiting the AKT/mTOR and ERK1/2 signaling cascades.
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