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Background:A recently developing pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 was originated in Wuhan, China, and has quickly spread across the world. We reported the clinical characteristics of 82 death cases with COVID-19 in a single center. Methods:Clinical data on 82 death cases laboratory-confirmed as SARS-CoV-2 infection were obtained from a Wuhan local hospital's electronic medical records according to previously designed standardized data collection forms.Results: All patients were local residents of Wuhan, and the great proportion of them were diagnosed as severe illness when admitted. Most of the death cases were male (65.9%). More than half of dead patients were older than 60 years (80.5%) and the median age was 72.5 years. The bulk of death cases had comorbidity (76.8%), including hypertension (56.1%), heart disease (20.7%), diabetes (18.3%), cerebrovascular disease (12.2%), and cancer (7.3%). Respiratory failure remained the leading cause of death (69.5%), following by sepsis syndrome/MOF (28.0%), cardiac failure (14.6%), hemorrhage (6.1%), and renal failure (3.7%). Furthermore, respiratory, cardiac, hemorrhage, hepatic, and renal damage were found in 100%, 89%, 80.5%, 78.0%, and 31.7% of patients, respectively. On the admission, lymphopenia (89.2%), neutrophilia (74.3%), and thrombocytopenia (24.3%) were usually observed. Most patients had a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio of >5 (94.5%), high systemic immune-inflammation index of >500 (89.2%), increased C-reactive protein level (100%), lactate dehydrogenase (93.2%), and D-dimer (97.1%). A high level of IL-6 (>10 pg/ml) was observed in all detected patients.Median time from initial symptom to death was 15 days , and a significant association between aspartate aminotransferase (p=0.002), alanine All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. : medRxiv preprint aminotransferase (p=0.037) and time from initial symptom to death were interestingly observed. Conclusion:Older males with comorbidities are more likely to develop severe disease, even die from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Respiratory failure is the main cause of COVID-19, but either virus itself or cytokine release storm mediated damage to other organ including cardiac, renal, hepatic, and hemorrhage should be taken seriously as well.

In addition to their hemostatic function, platelets play an important role in regulating the inflammatory response. The platelet NLRP3 inflammasome not only promotes interleukin-1β secretion, but was also found to be upregulated during platelet activation and thrombus formation in vitro. However, the role of NLRP3 in platelet function and thrombus formation in vivo remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of NLRP3 in platelet integrin αIIbβ3 signaling transduction. Using NLRP3−/− mice, we showed that NLRP3-deficient platelets do not have significant differences in expression of the platelet-specific adhesive receptors αIIbβ3 integrin, GPIba or GPVI; however, NLRP3−/− platelets transfused into wild-type mice resulted in prolonged tail-bleeding time and delayed arterial thrombus formation, as well as exhibiting impaired spreading on immobilized fibrinogen and defective clot retraction, concomitant with decreased phosphorylation of c-Src, Syk and PLCγ2 in response to thrombin stimulation. Interestingly, addition of exogenous recombinant interleukin-1β reversed the defect in NLRP3−/− platelet spreading and clot retraction, and restored thrombin-induced phosphorylation of c-Src/Syk/PLCγ2, whereas an anti-interleukin-1β antibody blocked spreading and clot retraction mediated by wild-type platelets. Using the direct NLRP3 inhibitor, CY-09, we demonstrated significantly reduced human platelet aggregation in response to threshold concentrations of collagen and ADP, as well as impaired clot retraction in CY-09-treated human platelets, supporting a role for NLRP3 also in regulating human platelet αIIbβ3 outside-in signaling. This study identifies a novel role for NLRP3 and interleukin-1β in platelet function, and provides a new potential link between thrombosis and inflammation, suggesting that therapies targeting NLRP3 or interleukin-1β might be beneficial for treating inflammation-associated thrombosis.

A manihot is a promising therapy for patients with primary kidney disease (chronic kidney disease stages 1-2) with moderate proteinuria.

Anti-AQP4 antibody-positive patients are immunologically distinct from anti-AQP4 antibody-negative OSMS patients owing to a Th2 shift in the former group in comparison to a Th1 shift in the latter.

Exosomes, nano-sized extracellular vesicles secreted by most cell types, are found in all kinds of biological fluids and tissues, including the central nervous system (CNS). The proposed functions of these vesicles include roles in cell-cell signaling, removal of cellular debris, and transfer of pathogens between cells. Many studies have revealed that exosomes derived from the CNS occur in the cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral body fluids, and their contents are altered during disease, making them an appealing target for biomarker development in Parkinson's disease (PD). Exosomes have been shown to spread toxic α-synuclein (αsyn) between cells and induce apoptosis, which suggests a key mechanism underlying the spread of αsyn aggregates in the brain and the acceleration of pathology in PD. However, potential neuroprotective roles of exosomes in PD have also been reported. On the treatment side, as drug delivery vehicles, exosomes have been used to deliver small interfering RNAs and catalase to the brain, and have shown clear therapeutic effects in a mouse model of PD. These features of exosomes in PD make them extremely interesting from the point of view of developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

BackgroundSarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity (SO) have a greater impact on the elderly. This study aimed to explore whether there were sex differences in the prevalence and adverse outcomes of sarcopenia and SO in community-dwelling elderly individuals in East China.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study that enrolled 213 males and 418 females aged > 65 years. Demographic characteristics, body composition, hand grip, gait speed, and indices of glucose and lipid metabolism were collected. Sarcopenia and SO were diagnosed using the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia criteria.Results(1) The prevalence of sarcopenia was 19.2% in males and 8.6% in females. The prevalence of SO was 7.0% in males and 2.4% in females. (2) In males, the odds ratios (ORs) of osteoporosis and dyslipidemia in the SO group were 4.21-fold and 4.15-fold higher than those in the normal group, respectively. In females, the ORs of osteoporosis and hyperglycemia in the SO group were 1.12-fold and 4.21-fold higher than those in the normal group.ConclusionsMales were more likely to be sarcopenic and to have SO than females using the AWGS criteria. Females with SO were more likely to have higher blood glucose, whereas males with SO were more likely to have osteoporosis and dyslipidemia.

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