Rescuing fertility during COVID-19 infection: exploring potential pharmacological and natural therapeutic approaches for comorbidity, by focusing on NLRP3 inflammasome mechanism.

The respiratory system was primarily considered the only organ affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As the pandemic continues, there is an increasing concern from the scientific community about the future effects of the virus on male and female reproductive organs, infertility, and, most significantly, its impact on the future generation. The general presumption is that if the primary clinical symptoms of COVID-19 are not controlled, we will face several challenges, including compromised infertility, infection-exposed cryopreserved germ cells or embryos, and health complications in future generations, likely connected to the COVID-19 infections of parents and ancestors. In this review article, we dedicatedly studied severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virology, its receptors, and the effect of the virus to induce the activation of inflammasome as the main arm of the innate immune response. Among inflammasomes, nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor protein, pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome pathway activation is partly responsible for the inflicted damages in both COVID-19 infection and some reproductive disorders, so the main focus of the discussion is on NLRP3 inflammasome in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 infection alongside in the reproductive biology. In addition, the potential effects of the virus on male and female gonad functions were discussed, and we further explored the potential natural and pharmacological therapeutic approaches for comorbidity via NLRP3 inflammasome neutralization to develop a hypothesis for averting the long-term repercussions of COVID-19. Since activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway contributes to the damage caused by COVID-19 infection and some reproductive disorders, NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors have a great potential to be considered candidates for alleviating the pathological effects of the COVID-19 infection on the germ cells and reproductive tissues. This would impede the subsequent massive wave of infertility that may threaten the patients.

Are COVID-19 Protective Behaviours and Risk Perception More Common in Diabetic Women than Non-Diabetics?

Objective: Diabetic patients are more likely to be infected and are at the higher risk of morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to compare the preventive behaviours and perceived risk of COVID-19 in women with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Materials and Methods: The analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from June to July 2020 on 151 participants. Among T2DM patients who were referred to Yazd diabetes center 79 patients were selected by using simple random sampling method. The healthy none diabetic participants (n=72) were selected from the patients' relatives. Data were collected by a validated questionnaire including demographic information, information about diabetes, information about protective behaviours and risk perception questions. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: The mean (±SD) score of protective behaviours in the diabetic group was 24.34 (±3.05), which was significantly higher than the non-diabetic group (P: 0.001). The mean risk perception in the group of diabetic patients was slightly more than the group without diabetes but this difference was not statistically significant (P= 0.16). In general, there was a significant positive correlation between protective behaviours and risk perception in diabetic (r= 0.26;P< 0.01) and non-diabetic (r= 0.39;P< 0.001) groups. Conclusion: Increased perceived risk promotes preventive behaviours of COVID-19 among diabetic and non-diabetic people. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Iranian Journal of Diabetes & Obesity (IJDO) is the property of Yazd Diabetes Research Center and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)