Are herbal medications, with possible beneficial effects for benign prostatic hyperplasia, better to be continued during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Different strategies have been proposed to treat cytokine storm syndrome (CSS), the final deadly complication of COVID-19. One approach is to target CSS by blocking the interleukin-6 (IL-6) pathway. A promising group of medications blocking the IL-6 pathway is α-blockers, such as prazosin. First, we hypothesized that Panax ginseng, commonly known as ginseng, can be an effective therapeutic agent in preventing CSS due to its blocking activity on alpha-1 adrenergic receptors (α1-AR). Furthermore, we suggested that herbs with 5α-reductase inhibitory effects, such as Saw palmetto, Nettle root, soya, black pepper, and green tea, can have debilitating impacts on pulmonary function since they can lead to impairment of the lung's ability to regenerate. Thus, we encourage the prospective studies to explore the potential effect of herbal medications, with possible beneficial effects for benign prostatic hyperplasia, during the COVID-19 pandemic since they are commonly consumed.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the success of bariatric surgeries in patients with severe obesity.

INTRODUCTION: SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) pandemic may influence the weight outcomes of bariatric surgeries (BS). Here, we intended to compare the weight outcome of patients who underwent bariatric surgery before and during the pandemic time. METHODS: In a retrospective, single-center study, the information of two groups of patients; first COVID-19_Group (n=51) consisted of those that underwent BS during the pandemic and completed a year of follow-up, second NonCOVID-19_Group included 50 patients who underwent BS and were followed up before the pandemic. All the patients' anthropometric and obesity-related disease data were compared between groups. RESULTS: Weight loss and the decrease of body mass index (BMI) one year after the surgery, as well as excess weight loss and total weight loss, were significantly higher in the NonCOVID-19_Group compared to the COVID-19_Group (p < 0.05). Although the rate of remission for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia was higher in the NonCOVID-19_ Group, the differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: We showed a significantly poorer weight outcome at the one-year follow-up of the BS during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic. These results need further investigations to determine the preventive measures and management by evaluating the associated factors.