Spirulina is the most studied cyanobacterium species for both pharmacological applications and the food industry. The aim of the present review is to summarize the potential benefits of the use of Spirulina for improving healthcare both in space and on Earth. Regarding the first field of application, Spirulina could represent a new technology for the sustainment of long-duration manned missions to planets beyond the Lower Earth Orbit (e.g., Mars); furthermore, it could help astronauts stay healthy while exposed to a variety of stress factors that can have negative consequences even after years. As far as the second field of application, Spirulina could have an active role in various aspects of medicine, such as metabolism, oncology, ophthalmology, central and peripheral nervous systems, and nephrology. The recent findings of the capacity of Spirulina to improve stem cells mobility and to increase immune response have opened new intriguing scenarios in oncological and infectious diseases, respectively.

Background: The novel SARS-Cov-2 has caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, with insufficient worldwide vaccination rates, the identification of treatment solutions to reduce the impact of the virus is urgently needed. Method: An adaptive, multicentric, open-label, and randomized controlled phase I/II clinical trial entitled the “SENTAD-COVID Study” was conducted by the Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center under conditional exceptional approval by the Emirates Institutional Review Board (IRB) for COVID-19 Research Committee from April 4 to July 31, 2020, using an autologous peripheral blood nonhematopoietic enriched stem cell cocktail (PB-NHESC-C) administered by compressor (jet) nebulization as a complement to standard care therapy. The primary endpoints include safety and efficacy assessments, adverse events, the mortality rate within 28 days, and the time to clinical improvement as measured by a 2-point reduction on a seven-category ordinal scale or discharge from the hospital, whichever occurred first. Results: The study included a total of 139 randomized COVID-19 patients with 69 in the experimental group and 70 in the control group (standard care). Overall survival was 94.20% for the cocktail-treated group vs. 90.27% for the control group. Adverse events occurred in 43 (62.32%) patients receiving PB-NHESC-C vs. 44 (62.86%) in the control group, and most adverse events were related to the disease. After the first nine days of the intervention, 67.3% of cocktail-treated patients recovered and were released from hospitals compared to 53.1% (RR=0.84; 95% CI, 0.56-1.28) in the control group. Improvement, i.e., at least a 2-point reduction in the severity scale, was more frequently observed in cocktail-treated patients (42.0%) than in controls (17.0%) (RR=0.69; 95% CI, 0.56-0.88). Conclusions: Cocktail treatment improved clinical outcomes without increasing adverse events. Thus, the nebulization of PB-NHESC-C was safe and effective for treatment in most of these patients. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT04473170. Registered 16 July 2020. Retrospectively registered. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04473170.

number of publications and clinical trials have been reported in the UAE.

Introduction:The COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented challenge to identify effective drugs and means for their prevention and management. It is more difficult in severe cases due to complications in various vital organs such as the kidneys. Methods: An analytical study was carried out within the framework of the clinical trial "SENTAD-COVID Study" (ClinicalTrial.org, NCT04473170), whose objective was to describe acute kidney injury (AKI) in severe patients with COVID-19 and its relationship with clinical outcomes. A novel stem cells treatment for COVID-19 patients using an autologous peripheral blood nonhematopoietic-enriched stem cells cocktail was developed by the research team of the Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center and applied at four Abu Dhabi Health Service Company hospitals. The sample consisted of the severe COVID-19 recruited patients: 20 in the experimental arm (Group A) and 24 controls (Group B). Both groups received COVID-19 standard treatment. Results: 29.5% of the patients studied suffered AKI. Mortality was lower in group A compared to the control group (20% vs. 30%, respectively), group A showed 25% AKI while group B 35%, sepsis was significantly lower in the treated group A compared to controls (25% vs. 35%; p=0.0095) Hazard Ratio=0.38, (95% CI: 0.16-0.86), given a Number Needed to Treat=2.5 patients. Group A had a significant reduction in inflammation markers at 25 days compared to the day of recruitment: C-Reactive Protein (median: 207.05 mg/L vs. 27.30 mg/L), IL-6 (median: 355.80 pg/L vs. 35.87 pg/L), and group A was the only one that presented a better proportion of patient with the recovery to normal values of the Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio at 25 days, from 100% to 71.42% p=0.0108. Conclusions: One-third of the patients studied suffered AKI, group A patients showed a clear tendency to improve compared to controls, suggesting that the proposed therapy promotes healing and early recovery in severe COVID-19, which might be related to the anti-inflammatory effect of cellular therapy.

Introduction: CryoShipper and CryoFreezer tanks were designed to safely transport and store biological material at cryogenic temperatures. An adverse warming event may occur if the CryoShipper is tilted during transit if temperature and proper levels of liquid nitrogen (LN2) vapors are not maintained. Storing cryogenic hematopoietic stem cell samples for a short or long time requires validating all pieces of equipment employed in a bone marrow transplant program. Objective: To determine the limitations of the MVE CryoShipper CX and the Thermo Fisher CryoExtra™ Cryogenic tank for the Abu Dhabi Bone Marrow Transplantation Program. Methods: The MVE CryoShipper CX was weighted and primed with LN2, and the excess was removed. After stabilizing the temperature, the shipper was tilted onto its side for 24, 72, and 96 hours. The temperature was monitored and recorded at 15 minutes intervals using a Datalogger. After returning to the correct upright position, the dry shipper temperature was also observed for five days after refilling with LN2 to evaluate the secure timing of a shipment. For an LN2 filled CryoExtra tank, dual control of the LN2 level and the temperature was done using manual measurement and automatic display. Later, vials and a bag from three healthy donors' frozen white blood cell buffy coat samples were kept inside and defrosted daily to measure total mononuclear cell counts CD45+/7AAD cells viability by flow cytometry for five days. Results: The CryoShipper maintained cryogenic temperatures below -150°C for the entire duration of each analysis. A maximum temperature of -182.7°C was reached during the 24-hour tilt experiment from the temperature probe. The CryoExtra 0140 freezer temperature was always between -184°C / -194.2°C, and LN2 levels coincided in both measuring methods during the time slot. Stored and defrosted cells keep their % of viability and absolute number over the expected reference range and compare mean+/-standard deviation (SD) between them without assessing the statistical difference with p≥0.05. The defrosted cells' mean viability of 83.12%, SD±9.04, and a mean of 1,781 cell/µL, SD±1,215. Conclusion: Our modern dry shipper controls much of the vapor within the shipper. The CryoShipper can withstand being tilted during transit for 96 hours without risks of an adverse warming event. The CryoExtra 0140 tank its performance was under the established parameters. Both types of cryogenic devices can be used for the safe cryopreservation of cell samples keeping all the security measures and controls as advised.