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Fulltext Review of pharmacologic and immunologic agents in the management of COVID-19

Ungogo MA, Mohammed M, Umar BN, Bala AA, Khalid GM

Biosaf Health, 2021 Jun;3(3):148-155.
PMID: 33458647 DOI: 10.1016/j.bsheal.2021.01.001

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the third coronavirus outbreak in the last two decades. Emerging and re-emerging infections like COVID-19 pose serious challenges of the paucity of information and lack of specific cure or vaccines. This leaves utilisation of existing scientific data on related viral infections and repurposing relevant aetiologic and supportive therapies as the best control approach while novel strategies are developed and trialled. Many promising antiviral agents including lopinavir, ritonavir, remdesivir, umifenovir, darunavir, and oseltamivir have been repurposed and are currently trialled for the care for COVID-19 patients. Adjunct therapies for the management of symptoms and to provide support especially in severe and critically ill patients have also been identified. This review provides an appraisal of the current evidence for the rational use of frontline therapeutics in the management of COVID-19. It also includes updates regarding COVID-19 immunotherapy and vaccine development.
Fulltext Risk Factors Associated with Mortality Among Patients with Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Africa

Mohammed M, Muhammad S, Mohammed FZ, Mustapha S, Sha'aban A, Sani NY, et al.

J Racial Ethn Health Disparities, 2021 10;8(5):1267-1272.
PMID: 33051749 DOI: 10.1007/s40615-020-00888-3

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in China and later spread rapidly to other parts of the world, including Africa. Africa was projected to be devastated by COVID-19. There is currently limited data regarding regional predictors of mortality among patients with COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the independent risk factors associated with mortality among patients with COVID-19 in Africa.
METHODS: A total of 1028 confirmed cases of COVID-19 from Africa with definite survival outcomes were identified retrospectively from an open-access individual-level worldwide COVID-19 database. The live version of the dataset is available at https://github.com/beoutbreakprepared/nCoV2019 . Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to determine the risk factors that independently predict mortality among patients with COVID-19 in Africa.
RESULTS: Of the 1028 cases included in study, 432 (42.0%) were females with a median (interquartile range, IQR) age of 50 (24) years. Older age (adjusted odds ratio {aOR} 1.06; [95% confidence intervals {95% CI}, 1.04-1.08]), presence of chronic disease (aOR 9.63; [95% CI, 3.84-24.15]), travel history (aOR 2.44; [95% CI, 1.26-4.72]), as well as locations of Central Africa (aOR 0.14; [95% CI, 0.03-0.72]) and West Africa (aOR 0.12; [95% CI, 0.04-0.32]) were identified as the independent risk factors significantly associated with increased mortality among the patients with COVID-19.
CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic is evolving gradually in Africa. Among patients with COVID-19 in Africa, older age, presence of chronic disease, travel history, and the locations of Central Africa and West Africa were associated with increased mortality. A regional response should prioritize strategies that will protect these populations. Also, conducting a further in-depth study could provide more insights into additional factors predictive of mortality in COVID-19 patients.
Pre-clinical efficacy of African medicinal plants used in the treatment of snakebite envenoming: A systematic review

Bala AA, Mohammed M, Umar S, Ungogo MA, Al-Kassim Hassan M, Abdussalam US, et al.

Toxicon, 2023 Mar 01;224:107035.
PMID: 36706926 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107035

The World Health Organization has listed Snakebite Envenoming (SBE) as a priority neglected tropical disease, with a worldwide annual snakebite affecting 5.4 million people and injuring 2.7 million lives. In many parts of rural areas of Africa and Asia, medicinal plants have been used as alternatives to conventional antisnake venom (ASV) due in part to inaccessibility to hospitals. Systemic reviews (SR) of laboratory-based preclinical studies play an essential role in drug discovery. We conducted an SR to evaluate the relationship between interventional medicinal plants and their observed effects on venom-induced experiments. This SR was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The Modified collaborative approach to meta-analysis and review of animal data from experimental studies (CAMARADES) and SYRCLE's risk of bias tools were used to appraise the included studies. Data were searched online in Medline via PubMed, Embase via OVID, and Scopus. Studies reporting in vivo and in vitro pharmacological activities of African medicinal plants/extracts/constituents against venom-induced pathologies were identified and included for screening. Data from the included studies were extracted and synthesized. Ten studies reported statistically significant percentage protection (40-100%) of animals against venom-induced lethality compared with control groups that received no medicinal plant intervention. Sixteen studies reported significant effects (p ≤ 0.05) against venom-induced pathologies compared with the control group; these include hemolytic, histopathologic, necrotic, and anti-enzymatic effects. The plant family Fabaceae has the highest number of studies reporting its efficacy, followed by Annonaceae, Malvaceae, Combretaceae, Sterculiaceae, and Olacaceae. Some African medicinal plants are preclinically effective against venom-induced lethality, hematotoxicity, and cytotoxicity. The evidence was extracted from three in vitro studies, nine in vivo studies, and five studies that combined both in vivo and in vitro models. The effective plants belong to the Fabaceae family, followed by Malvaceae, and Annonaceae.

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