[Recent topics in the pathophysiology and treatment of immune thrombocytopenic purpura].

Increased and impaired platelet productions via immunological abnormalities are the main pathophysiological mechanisms of primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Recent studies have revealed that platelet removal from circulation involves not only Fc receptor-mediated phagocytosis of immunoglobulin G autoantibodies-bound platelets but also complement-dependent mechanism and platelet glycoprotein desialylation. Understanding the molecular mechanism of ITP pathophysiology has helped develop many novel molecular targeted drugs, and recent clinical trials have shown their effectiveness. In particular, fostamatinib, which is a Syk inhibitor, inhibits macrophage and B-cell activity and is already been approved in Europe for multidrug-resistant ITP. Recently, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccine-associated newly-onset or ITP exacerbation has come to attention. Whether COVID-19 vaccines induce de novo ITP remains controversial. However, close attention is necessary after COVID-19 vaccination because a certain number of patients with ITP presented exacerbation after COVID-19 vaccination.

A phase III, randomized, open-label study (CONTACT-02) of cabozantinib plus atezolizumab versus second novel hormone therapy in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Cabozantinib inhibits multiple receptor tyrosine kinases, including the TAM kinase family, and may enhance response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. One cohort of the ongoing phase Ib COSMIC-021 study (NCT03170960) evaluating cabozantinib plus the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) that has progressed in soft tissue on/after enzalutamide and/or abiraterone treatment for metastatic disease has shown promising efficacy. Here, we describe the rationale and design of a phase III trial of cabozantinib plus atezolizumab versus a second novel hormone therapy (NHT) in patients who have previously received an NHT for mCRPC, metastatic castration-sensitive PC or nonmetastatic CRPC and have measurable visceral disease and/or extrapelvic adenopathy - a population with a significant unmet need for treatment options. Trial Registration Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04446117 (ClinicalTrials.gov) Registered on 24 June 2020.

Fostamatinib for the Treatment of Hospitalized Adults With Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) requiring hospitalization is characterized by robust antibody production, dysregulated immune response, and immunothrombosis. Fostamatinib is a novel spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor that we hypothesize will ameliorate Fc activation and attenuate harmful effects of the anti-COVID-19 immune response. METHODS: We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in hospitalized adults requiring oxygen with COVID-19 where patients receiving standard of care were randomized to receive fostamatinib or placebo. The primary outcome was serious adverse events by day 29. RESULTS: A total of 59 patients underwent randomization (30 to fostamatinib and 29 to placebo). Serious adverse events occurred in 10.5% of patients in the fostamatinib group compared with 22% in placebo (P = .2). Three deaths occurred by day 29, all receiving placebo. The mean change in ordinal score at day 15 was greater in the fostamatinib group (-3.6 ±â€…0.3 vs -2.6 ±â€…0.4, P = .035) and the median length in the intensive care unit was 3 days in the fostamatinib group vs 7 days in placebo (P = .07). Differences in clinical improvement were most evident in patients with severe or critical disease (median days on oxygen, 10 vs 28, P = .027). There were trends toward more rapid reductions in C-reactive protein, D-dimer, fibrinogen, and ferritin levels in the fostamatinib group. CONCLUSION: For COVID-19 requiring hospitalization, the addition of fostamatinib to standard of care was safe and patients were observed to have improved clinical outcomes compared with placebo. These results warrant further validation in larger confirmatory trials. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04579393.

Real-life experience of edoxaban treatment for venous thromboembolism (VTE)/pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with isolated positive Lupus Anticoagulant (LAC) during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Italy.

OBJECTIVE: Direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have established indications, according to recent guidelines for the treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE), including pulmonary embolism (PE), with a safer profile compared to vitamin K antagonist (VKA) in terms of a lower risk for major bleeding and no need of blood coagulation tests. However, DOACs are not indicated in the treatment of patients with triple-positive antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). This limitation is often extended in clinical practice to patients with isolated positivity. The COVID-19 pandemic has sometimes made it difficult to maintain a safe VKA treatment, due to the practical difficulties of performing INR. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated 39 patients with a previous unprovoked VTE/PE, who were no longer eligible for VKA treatment due to the difficulty of performing INR during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, in Italy. All patients had a positive LAC and refused a long-term anticoagulation with low molecular weight heparin. They were shifted to edoxaban. RESULTS: Any recurrence of VTE/PE occurred during the observation period (up to eight months of treatment), while only one minor bleeding event was recorded (Hazard ratio=0.06, 95% confidence interval 0.03-0.11, p=0.094). No arterial events occurred during the observation period. Hemoglobin, platelets, and creatinine were unchanged during the observation period. CONCLUSIONS: Edoxaban treatment may be safe and effective in preventing the recurrence of VTE/PE in patients with isolated LAC positivity, without the occurrence of arterial events.

A 67-Year-Old Male Patient With COVID-19 With Worsening Respiratory Function and Acute Kidney Failure.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 67-year-old obese man (BMI 38.0) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), chronic atrial fibrillation, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia stage II, stable for 8 years after chemotherapy, and a history of smoking presented to the ED with progressive dyspnea and fever due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. He was admitted to a general ward and treated with dexamethasone (6 mg IV once daily) and oxygen. On day 3 of hospital admission, he became progressively hypoxemic and was admitted to the ICU for invasive mechanical ventilation. Dexamethasone treatment was continued, and a single dose of tocilizumab (800 mg) was administered. On day 9 of ICU admission, voriconazole treatment was initiated after tracheal white plaques at bronchoscopy, suggestive of invasive Aspergillus tracheobronchitis, were noticed. However, his medical situation dramatically deteriorated.

Ibudilast, a Phosphodiesterase-4 Inhibitor, Ameliorates Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Neonatal Mice by Alleviating Inflammation and Apoptosis.

BACKGROUND Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a sudden and serious disease with increasing morbidity and mortality rates. Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) is a novel target for inflammatory disease, and ibudilast (IBU), a PDE4 inhibitor, inhibits inflammatory response. Our study investigated the effect of IBU on the pathogenesis of neonatal ARDS and the underlying mechanism related to it. MATERIAL AND METHODS Western blotting was performed to analyze the expression levels of PDE4, CXCR4, SDF-1, CXCR5, CXCL1, inflammatory cytokines, and proteins related to cell apoptosis. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to observe the pathological morphology of lung tissue. Pulmonary edema score was used to assess the degree of lung water accumulation after pulmonary injury. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to assess levels of inflammatory factors (TNF-alpha, IL-1ß, IL-6, and MCP-1) in serum. TUNEL assay was used to detect apoptotic cells. RESULTS Increased expression of PDE4 was observed in an LPS-induced neonatal ARDS mouse model, and IBU ameliorated LPS-induced pathological manifestations and pulmonary edema in lung tissue. In addition, IBU attenuated the secretion of inflammatory cytokines by inactivating the chemokine axis in the LPS-induced neonatal ARDS mouse model. Finally, IBU significantly reduced LPS-induced cell apoptosis in lung tissue. CONCLUSIONS IBU, a PDE4 inhibitor, protected against ARDS by interfering with pulmonary inflammation and apoptosis. Our findings provide a novel and promising strategy to regulate pulmonary inflammation in ARDS.

NEPA (netupitant/palonosetron) for the antiemetic prophylaxis of nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy (CINV) with Folfirinox and Folfoxiri even during the COVID-19 pandemic: a real-life study.

OBJECTIVE: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected the treatment of cancer patients, with particular regard to the management of both chemotherapy and side effects. Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) are amongst the most troublesome side effects that impair patients' adherence to treatments and their quality of life (QoL). NEPA (Akynzeo®), is an oral fixed-dose combination of netupitant [a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist (NK1RA), 300 mg] and palonosetron [(5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin or 5HT) type3 receptor antagonist (5HT3RA), 0.5 mg] which has been shown to be effective in preventing CINV. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This prospective study started before the outbreak of COVID-19 and was carried out during the pandemic period. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a single oral dose NEPA plus 12 mg of dexamethasone (DEX) in patients treated with Folfoxiri plus Bevacizumab and Folfirinox. The patients were diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) or advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). They were divided into two groups: naïve patients and patients previously treated with serotonin receptor antagonists (5HT3-RA) and neurokin-1 receptor antagonists (NK1-RA). RESULTS: During the overall phase, the complete response (CR) rate was 96.8% in naïve patients treated with Folfoxiri plus Bevacizumab, and 94.6% in patients treated with Folfirinox. During the acute and delayed phases, the CR rate was 92.8% and 94.2%, with Folfoxiri and Bevacizumab, as well as 96.2% and 94.6%, with Folfirinox. There was no adequate control of CINV events in patients on antiemetic prophylaxis with 5HT3-RA or NK1-RA associated with cortisone. During the overall phase, the CR rate was 74.6% with Folfoxiri plus Bevacizumab and 75.8% with Folfirinox. During the acute and delayed phases, the CR rate was 72.5% and 74.8% with Folfoxiri plus Bevacizumab, as well as 75.2% and 74.6% with Folfirinox. CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown the therapeutic benefits of NEPA in the management and prophylaxis of CINV events, both in naive patients and patients previously treated with 5HT3-RA and NK1-RA. In addition, NEPA has been shown to be safe, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Atogepant for the Preventive Treatment of Migraine.

BACKGROUND: Atogepant is an oral, small-molecule, calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist that is being investigated for the preventive treatment of migraine. METHODS: In a phase 3, double-blind trial, we randomly assigned adults with 4 to 14 migraine days per month in a 1:1:1:1 ratio to receive a once-daily dose of oral atogepant (10 mg, 30 mg, or 60 mg) or placebo for 12 weeks. The primary end point was the change from baseline in the mean number of migraine days per month across the 12 weeks. Secondary end points included headache days per month, a reduction from baseline of at least 50% in the 3-month average of migraine days per month, quality of life, and scores on the Activity Impairment in Migraine-Diary (AIM-D). RESULTS: A total of 2270 participants were screened, 910 were enrolled, and 873 were included in the efficacy analysis; 214 were assigned to the 10-mg atogepant group, 223 to the 30-mg atogepant group, 222 to the 60-mg atogepant group, and 214 to the placebo group. The mean number of migraine days per month at baseline ranged from 7.5 to 7.9 in the four groups. The changes from baseline across 12 weeks were -3.7 days with 10-mg atogepant, -3.9 days with 30-mg atogepant, -4.2 days with 60-mg atogepant, and -2.5 days with placebo. The mean differences from placebo in the change from baseline were -1.2 days with 10-mg atogepant (95% confidence interval [CI], -1.8 to -0.6), -1.4 days with 30-mg atogepant (95% CI, -1.9 to -0.8), and -1.7 days with 60-mg atogepant (95% CI, -2.3 to -1.2) (P<0.001 for all comparisons with placebo). Results for the secondary end points favored atogepant over placebo with the exceptions of the AIM-D Performance of Daily Activities score and the AIM-D Physical Impairment score for the 10-mg dose. The most common adverse events were constipation (6.9 to 7.7% across atogepant doses) and nausea (4.4 to 6.1% across atogepant doses). Serious adverse events included one case each of asthma and optic neuritis in the 10-mg atogepant group. CONCLUSIONS: Oral atogepant once daily was effective in reducing the number of migraine days and headache days over a period of 12 weeks. Adverse events included constipation and nausea. Longer and larger trials are needed to determine the effect and safety of atogepant for migraine prevention. (Funded by Allergan; ADVANCE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03777059.).

Edoxaban for the treatment of pulmonary embolism in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the clinical performance of edoxaban for the treatment of pulmonary embolism (PE) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis selecting hospitalized patients with COVID-19 admitted to our Institution from 20 May 2020 to 20 November 2020 with computer tomography (CT) detected PE at admission, treated with edoxaban after initial parenteral therapy. Clinical outcomes were compared between patients with and without ARDS at admission and between those with and without CT confirmed PE resolution. RESULTS: 50 patients were included. Mean follow-up was 42.5 ± 10 days. No baseline differences were found between patients with ARDS (30%) and those without ARDS at admission. Patients with PE resolution (84%) were younger (P = 0.03), had a shorter duration of fondaparinux therapy (9.9 ± 3.8 vs 15.8 ± 7.5 days; P = 0.0015) and length of hospitalization (36 ± 8 vs 46 ± 9 days: P = 0.0023) compared with those without PE resolution. 2 patients experienced major bleedings. At multivariate analysis the time to edoxaban switch was the only predictor of the PE resolution (HR: 0.92; 95% C.I. 0.86 to 0.99). CONCLUSION: Edoxaban was an effective and safe treatment for acute PE in COVID-19 setting.

Management of colorectal cancer in the era of COVID-19: Challenges and suggestions.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had a huge impact on all sectors around the world. In particular, the healthcare system has been subject to an enormous pressure that has surpassed its ability in many instances. Additionally, the pandemic has called for a review of our daily medical practices, including our approach to colorectal cancer management where treatment puts patients at high risk of virus exposure. Given their higher median age, patients are at an increased risk for severe symptoms and complications in cases of infection, especially in the setting of immunosuppression. Therefore, a review of the routine colorectal cancer practices is needed to minimize risk of exposure. Oncologists should weigh risk of exposure versus the patient's oncologic benefits when approaching management. In addition, treatment protocols should be modified to minimize hospital visits and admissions while maintaining the same treatment efficacy. In this review, we will focus on challenges that colorectal cancer patients face during the pandemic, while highlighting the priority in each case. We will also discuss the evidence for potential modifications to existing treatment plans that could reduce infectious exposure without compromising care. Finally, we will discuss the impact of the socio-economic difficulties faced by Lebanese patients due to a poor economy toppled by an unexpected pandemic.

Multi-arm Trial of Inflammatory Signal Inhibitors (MATIS) for hospitalised patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 pneumonia: a structured summary of a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of MATIS is to determine the efficacy of ruxolitinib (RUX) or fostamatinib (FOS) compared to standard of care (SOC) with respect to reducing the proportion of hospitalised patients progressing from mild or moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Secondary objectives, at 14 and 28 days, are to: Determine the efficacy of RUX or FOS to reduce mortality Determine the efficacy of RUX or FOS to reduce the need for invasive ventilation or ECMO Determine the efficacy of RUX or FOS to reduce the need for non-invasive ventilation Determine the efficacy of RUX or FOS to reduce the proportion of participants suffering significant oxygen desaturation Determine the efficacy of RUX or FOS to reduce the need for renal replacement therapy Determine the efficacy of RUX and FOS to reduce the incidence of venous thromboembolism Determine the efficacy of RUX and FOS to reduce the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia [graded by a 9-point modified WHO Ordinal Scale* Determine the efficacy of RUX or FOS to reduce systemic inflammation Determine the efficacy of RUX or FOS to the incidence of renal impairment Determine the efficacy of RUX or FOS to reduce duration of hospital stay Evaluate the safety of RUX and FOS for treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia. TRIAL DESIGN: A multi-arm, multi-stage (3-arm parallel-group, 2-stage) randomised controlled trial that allocates participants 1:1:1 and tests for superiority in experimental arms versus standard of care. PARTICIPANTS: Patients will be recruited while inpatients during hospitalisation for COVID-19 in multiple centres throughout the UK including Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. INCLUSION: Patients age ≥ 18 years at screening Patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 pneumonia, defined as Grade 3 or 4 severity by the WHO COVID-19 Ordinal Scale Patients meeting criteria: Hospitalization AND SARS-CoV2 infection (clinically suspected or laboratory confirmed) AND Radiological change consistent with COVID-19 disease CRP ≥ 30mg/L at any time point Informed consent from patient or personal or professional representative Agreement to abstain from sexual intercourse or use contraception that is >99% effective for all participants of childbearing potential for 42 days after the last dose of study drug. For male participants, agreement to abstain from sperm donation for 42 days after the last dose of study drug. EXCLUSION: Requiring either invasive or non-invasive ventilation including CPAP or high flow nasal oxygen at any point after hospital admission but before baseline, not related to a pre-existing condition (e.g., obstructive sleep apnoea) Grade ≥ 5 severity on the modified WHO COVID-19 Ordinal Scale, i.e. SpO2 < 90% on ≥ 60% inspired oxygen by facemask at baseline; non-invasive ventilation; or invasive mechanical ventilation In the opinion of the investigator, progression to death is inevitable within the next 24 hours, irrespective of the provision of therapy Known severe allergic reactions to the investigational agents Child-Pugh B or C grade hepatic dysfunction Use of drugs within the preceding 14 days that are known to interact with any study treatment (FOS or RUX), as listed in the Summary of Product Characteristics Pregnant or breastfeeding Any medical condition or concomitant medication that in the opinion of the investigator would compromise subjects' safety or compliance with study procedures. Any medical condition which in the opinion of the principal investigator would compromise the scientific integrity of the study Non-English speakers will be able to join the study. If participants are unable to understand verbal or written information in English, then hospital translation services will be requested at the participating site for the participant where possible. INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: RUXOLITINIB (RUX) (14 days): An oral selective and potent inhibitor of Janus Associated Kinases (JAK1 and JAK2) and cell proliferation (Verstovek, 2010). It is approved for the treatment of disease-related splenomegaly or constitutional symptoms in myelofibrosis, polycythaemia vera and graft-versus-host-disease. RUX will be administered orally 10mg bd Day 1-7 and 5mg bd Day 8-14. FOSTAMATINIB (FOS) (14 days): An oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in adult participants with chronic immune thrombocytopenia. FOS will be administered orally 150mg bd Day 1-7 and 100mg bd Day 8-14. Please see protocol for recommended dose modifications where required. COMPARATOR (Standard of Care, SOC): experimental arms will be compared to participants receiving standard of care. It is accepted that SOC may change during a rapidly evolving pandemic. Co-enrolment to other trials and rescue therapy, either pre- or post-randomisation, is permitted and will be accounted for in the statistical analysis. MAIN OUTCOMES: Pairwise comparison (RUX vs SOC and FOS vs SOC) of the proportion of participants diagnosed with severe COVID-19 pneumonia within 14 days. Severe COVID-19 pneumonia is defined by a score ≥ 5 on a modified WHO COVID-19 Ordinal Scale, comprising the following indicators of disease severity: Death OR Requirement for invasive ventilation OR Requirement for non-invasive ventilation including CPAP or high flow oxygen OR O2 saturation < 90% on ≥60% inspired oxygen RANDOMISATION: Participants will be allocated to interventions using a central web-based randomisation service that generates random sequences using random permuted blocks (1:1:1), with stratification by age (<65 and ≥65 years) and site. BLINDING (MASKING): No participants or caregivers are blinded to group assignment. Clinical outcomes will be compared blind to group assignment. NUMBERS TO BE RANDOMISED (SAMPLE SIZE): For an early informal dose examination by the Data Monitoring Committee a minimum of 30 participants will be recruited. For Stage 1 of this multi-arm multi-stage study, 171 participants will be randomised, with 57 participants in each arm. If at least one experimental intervention shows promise, then Stage 2 will recruit a further 95 participants per arm. Sample size calculations are given in the protocol. TRIAL STATUS: Recruitment is ongoing and started 2nd October 2020. We anticipate completion of Stage 1 by July 2021 and Stage 2 by April 2022. The current protocol version 2.0 of 11th February 2021 is appended. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT: 2020-001750-22 , 9th July 2020 ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04581954 , 9th October 2020 FULL PROTOCOL: The full protocol is attached as an additional file, accessible from the Trials website (Additional file 1). In the interest of expediting dissemination of this material, familiar formatting has been eliminated; this Letter serves as a summary of the key elements of the full protocol.

Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism in Acutely Ill Medical Patients: A New Era.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the leading preventable cause of death in hospitalized patients and data consistently show that acutely ill medical patients remain at increased risk for VTE-related morbidity and mortality in the post-hospital discharge period. Prescribing extended thromboprophylaxis for up to 45 days following an acute hospitalization in key patient subgroups that include more than one-quarter of hospitalized medically-ill patients represents a paradigm shift in the way hospital-based physicians think about VTE prevention. Advances in the field of primary thromboprophylaxis in acutely-ill medical patients using validated VTE and bleeding risk assessment models have established key patient subgroups at high risk of VTE and low risk of bleeding that may benefit from both in-hospital and extended thromboprophylaxis. The direct oral anticoagulants betrixaban and rivaroxaban are now U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved for in-hospital and extended thromboprophylaxis in medically ill patients and provide net clinical benefit in these key subgroups. Coronavirus disease-2019 may predispose patients to VTE due to excessive inflammation, platelet activation, endothelial dysfunction, and hemostasis. The optimum preventive strategy for these patients requires further investigation. This article aims to review the latest concepts in predicting and preventing VTE and discuss the new era of extended thromboprophylaxis in hospitalized medically ill patients.

Risk-adapted adjuvant therapy of luminal early breast cancer in 2020.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The present review summarizes recent original publications addressing the topic of risk-adapted adjuvant therapy in early breast cancer (EBC). As neoadjuvant therapy has become a standard for triple negative and HER2+ EBC, it focusses on luminal EBC. RECENT FINDINGS: Gene expression assays have become standard of care in luminal EBC, at least for patients with node negative disease. Two prospective randomized clinical trials, TAILORx (Oncotype DX) and MINDACT (MammaPrint) have presented additional analyses underlining the clinical utility of the tests. In times of COVID-19, immunohistochemically determined ER, PR, and Ki67 and early Ki67 response to endocrine therapy can be used to safely allocate patients for preoperative endocrine therapy and delay surgeries if resources are scarce. In patients with luminal high-risk disease, adding a CDK 4/6 inhibitor (abemaciclib) improves patient outcome already after short-term follow-up. SUMMARY: Determination of recurrence risk will remain important in luminal EBC for optimal therapy decisions. In the future, risk-adapted treatment concepts will include decision making for chemotherapy but also for endocrine-based approaches.

ABBV-744 as a potential inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease enzyme against COVID-19.

A new pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide and become pandemic with thousands new deaths and infected cases globally. To address coronavirus disease (COVID-19), currently no effective drug or vaccine is available. This necessity motivated us to explore potential lead compounds by considering drug repurposing approach targeting main protease (Mpro) enzyme of SARS-CoV-2. This enzyme considered to be an attractive drug target as it contributes significantly in mediating viral replication and transcription. Herein, comprehensive computational investigations were performed to identify potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro enzyme. The structure-based pharmacophore modeling was developed based on the co-crystallized structure of the enzyme with its biological active inhibitor. The generated hypotheses were applied for virtual screening based PhaseScore. Docking based virtual screening workflow was used to generate hit compounds using HTVS, SP and XP based Glide GScore. The pharmacological and physicochemical properties of the selected lead compounds were characterized using ADMET. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to explore the binding affinities of the considered lead compounds. Binding energies revealed that compound ABBV-744 binds to the Mpro with strong affinity (ΔGbind -45.43 kcal/mol), and the complex is more stable in comparison with other protein-ligand complexes. Our study classified three best compounds which could be considered as promising inhibitors against main protease SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Rare case of clear cell renal cell carcinoma presenting as a unilateral tonsil lesion.

A 70-year-old man presented with gradually worsening throat discomfort. He had no prior diagnosis of cancer and no travel history of note. Examination revealed a right-sided painless neck lump. He underwent an MRI of the neck, revealing a gadolinium-enhancing tonsillar mass and two brain lesions. Biopsy of the tonsil lesion was in keeping with an epithelial neoplasm, suggesting metastatic renal cell carcinoma. This was confirmed following a staging CT, which revealed a left renal mass and lung metastases. Due to his brain metastases, the patient has been started on the tyrosine kinase inhibitor cabozantinib. A brief discussion on the diagnostic evaluation of a tonsil mass as a rare presentation of renal cell cancer follows this report.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis associated with COVID-19 in a kidney transplant recipient.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) might increase the risk of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). Although several case reports and small series have been reported in the general population, scarce information is available regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated IPA in the setting of solid organ transplantation. We describe a case of a kidney transplant recipient with severe COVID-19 that was subsequently diagnosed with probable IPA on the basis of the repeated isolation of Aspergillus fumigatus in sputum cultures, repeatedly increased serum (1 â†’ 3)-ß-d-glucan levels, and enlarging cavitary nodules in the CT scan. The evolution was favorable after initiation of isavuconazole and nebulized liposomal amphotericin B combination therapy and the withdrawal of immunosuppression.

Modeling mitigation of influenza epidemics by baloxavir.

Influenza viruses annually kill 290,000-650,000 people worldwide. Antivirals can reduce death tolls. Baloxavir, the recently approved influenza antiviral, inhibits initiation of viral mRNA synthesis, whereas oseltamivir, an older drug, inhibits release of virus progeny. Baloxavir blocks virus replication more rapidly and completely than oseltamivir, reducing the duration of infectiousness. Hence, early baloxavir treatment may indirectly prevent transmission. Here, we estimate impacts of ramping up and accelerating baloxavir treatment on population-level incidence using a new model that links viral load dynamics from clinical trial data to between-host transmission. We estimate that ~22 million infections and >6,000 deaths would have been averted in the 2017-2018 epidemic season by administering baloxavir to 30% of infected cases within 48 h after symptom onset. Treatment within 24 h would almost double the impact. Consequently, scaling up early baloxavir treatment would substantially reduce influenza morbidity and mortality every year. The development of antivirals against the SARS-CoV2 virus that function like baloxavir might similarly curtail transmission and save lives.