Efficacy of the use of mefenamic acid combined with standard medical care vs. standard medical care alone for the treatment of COVID­19: A randomized double­blind placebo­controlled trial.

Mefenamic acid is a non­steroidal anti­inflammatory drug exhibiting a wide range of anti­inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic and probable antiviral activities. The present study evaluated the efficacy of treatment with mefenamic acid combined with standard medical care vs. standard medical care plus a placebo in ambulatory patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID­19; nasal/oropharyngeal swabs reverse transcription­PCR test results positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). The present study is a phase II prospective, two­arm, parallel­group, randomized, double­blind placebo­controlled clinical trial which analyzed 36 patients. Two aspects were evaluated during the 14­day follow­up period: i) The time for reaching a patient acceptable symptom state (PASS), and ii) the last day of each COVID­19 symptom presentation. Adverse effects were evaluated. The clinical severity for all the patients in the study was mild (88.9%) and moderate (11.1%). The control (placebo) group achieved PASS on day 8.0±1.3, compared with day 4.4±0.8 in the mefenamic acid group (P=0.020, Kaplan­Meier analyses using log­rank tests). Patients that received mefenamic acid plus standard medical care had a ~16­fold higher probability of achieving PASS on day 8 (adjusted RR, 15.57; 95% CI, 1.22­198.71; P=0.035), compared with the placebo plus standard medical care group. All symptoms lasted for fewer days in the mefenamic acid group, compared with the placebo group; however, only the symptoms of headache (P=0.008), retro­orbital eye pain (P=0.049), and sore throat (P=0.029) exhibited statistically significant differences. The experimental treatment produced no severe adverse effects. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that the administration of mefenamic acid markedly reduced the symptomatology and time to reach PASS in ambulatory patients with COVID­19. Due to its probable antiviral effects and potent anti­inflammatory mechanisms, mefenamic acid may prove to be useful in the treatment of COVID­19, in combination with other drugs, including the new antivirals (remdesivir, molnupiravir, or favipiravir). However, future studies are also required to confirm these findings.

SYNTHESIS OF FUSED PYRIMIDINES DERIVATIVES AND MANNICH BASES AND ASSESS OF THEIR ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY, LASER EFFICACY AND MOLECULAR DOCKING

Fused pyrimidines gain an increasing interest as being a precursor for biologically active new compounds. The fused pyrimidine derivatives (1-5) were prepared by condensation of the 1,8-diamine naphthalene with some medical compounds in the presence of ammonium chloride as a dehydration agent for the water molecule and toluene as a solvent. Mannich base compounds (6-10) were prepared by reacting pyrimidines (1-5) with formaldehyde and 4-methoxyaniline. A microwave method was used in preparing the compounds. The prepared compounds were characterized by physical methods, through melting points and color, as well as by spectroscopic methods such as FT-IR and 1H-NMR. The purity of the prepared compounds was evaluated using TLC. The bioactivity of these compounds was tested against two types of bacteria, i.e. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results of bioactivity showed an antibacterial activity compared to the standard drugs Cephalexin and Amoxicillin. The stability of selected compounds was evaluated by laser irradiation for (10, 20, 30, 40) seconds, and was found to be stable and did not decompose with a 30 seconds exposure. On the other hand, their color was changed at 40 seconds of exposure. Molecular docking studies were conducted to examine how some of the synthesized compounds bind to the putative target, SARS COV2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The study concluded that some of the prepared compounds showed promising antibacterial and antiviral bioactivities. Further in vitro and in vivo toxicological and pharmacological studies are required to evaluate the possibility of using these compounds as a medicine.