SARS-COV-2 has roused the scientific community with a call to action to combat the growing pandemic. At the time of this writing, there are as yet no novel antiviral agents or approved vaccines available for deployment as a frontline defense. Understanding the pathobiology of COVID-19 could aid scientists in their discovery of potent antivirals by elucidating unexplored viral pathways. One method for accomplishing this is the leveraging of computational methods to discover new candidate drugs and vaccines in silico. In the last decade, machine learning-based models, trained on specific biomolecules, have offered inexpensive and rapid implementation methods for the discovery of effective viral therapies. Given a target biomolecule, these models are capable of predicting inhibitor candidates in a structural-based manner. If enough data are presented to a model, it can aid the search for a drug or vaccine candidate by identifying patterns within the data. In this review, we focus on the recent advances of COVID-19 drug and vaccine development using artificial intelligence and the potential of intelligent training for the discovery of COVID-19 therapeutics. To facilitate applications of deep learning for SARS-COV-2, we highlight multiple molecular targets of COVID-19, inhibition of which may increase patient survival. Moreover, we present CoronaDB-AI, a dataset of compounds, peptides, and epitopes discovered either in silico or in vitro that can be potentially used for training models in order to extract COVID-19 treatment. The information and datasets provided in this review can be used to train deep learning-based models and accelerate the discovery of effective viral therapies.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the association of anosmia and positive SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) RT-PCR test results among patients in a tertiary government hospital in Metro Manila.
Methods:
Design: Cross-Sectional Study
Setting: Tertiary Government Hospital
Participants: Patients aged 18 years old and above who consulted or were admitted with COVID-19 symptoms at the Quezon City General Hospital in the Philippines from July to September 2020 answered an offline version of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery AAO-HNS COVID-19 Anosmia Reporting Tool prior to undergoing (COVID-19) RT-PCR testing.
Results: Out of 172 participants, 63 (36.6%) presented with anosmia. Sixty (95.2%) out of 63 of those with anosmia had a positive COVID-19 RT-PCR test result. Forty-one (65%) participants reported anosmia as the first symptom while the most common associated symptoms were fever (59%), cough (50%), and rhinorrhea (31%). There was a significant association between anosmia and positive SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) RT-PCR tests (X2 =33.85, df=1, p<.0001).
Conclusion: Anosmia was associated with a positive SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) RT-PCR test in more than 95% of those who reported the symptom. Anosmia should be considered as a red flag sign which should be included in the screening of persons suspected of being infected with COVID-19 to help mitigate further spread of the virus.
Objective: To evaluate the quality of life before, and after Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) among patients with nasal obstruction due to nasal polyposis using the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) questionnaire translated in Filipino (NOSE-Ph) in a tertiary government hospital in Metro Manila.
Methods:
Design: Cross-Sectional QOL Study
Setting: Tertiary Government Hospital
Subjects: 40 patients with nasal polyposis who underwent FESS from April 2014 to June 2015 were included in the study. Patients who underwent FESS due to other nasal tumors other than nasal polyp were excluded. The subjects answered the previously-validated NOSE-Ph questionnaire pre- and post-operatively and the scores were gathered and analyzed.
Results: Based on the pre and post-operative scores, there was a statistically significant improvement in all 5 parameters (1. nasal congestion, 2. nasal obstruction, 3. trouble breathing, 4. trouble sleeping, and 5. inability to get enough air through the nose during exercise).
Conclusion: There was a statistically significant improvement in the quality of life of patients who underwent FESS based on the pre and post-operative scores using the NOSE-Ph questionnaire translated in Filipino.
Keywords: nasal obstruction symptom evaluation scale
Objective: To present a case of progressive hemifacial atrophy in a young woman with Parry-Romberg Syndrome and the role of autologous fat transfer to improve her aesthetic appearance and lessen facial asymmetry.
Methods:
Design: Case Report
Setting: Tertiary Government Training Hospital
Patient: One
Results: A 20-year old woman consulted because of drooping of the right eyelid and gradual thinning of right cheek muscles since age 16. On examination, the right facial muscles were hypoplastic with prominent facial bony ridges. An MRI scan showed atrophy of the right medial pterygoid and masseter. She underwent autologous fat transfer on the right side of the face to augment the cheek, improve cosmetic appearance and lessen facial asymmetry.
Conclusion: Our patient is satisfied and happy with the outcome and cosmetic appearance of her autologous fat transfer and is ready to undergo the same procedure if the need arises in the future. Although no definite cure exists for Parry Romberg syndrome, our report illustrates the role of autologous fat transfer as an inexpensive, easily harvested and biocompatible material to improve facial asymmetry. The procedure yielded encouraging results, although long-term benefits remain uncertain.
Keywords: Parry-Romberg syndrome; progressive hemifacial atrophy; autologous transplantation
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