Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 , caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), involves multiple organs. Testicular involvement is largely unknown. Objective: To determine the pathological changes and whether SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in the testes of deceased COVID-19 patients. Design, setting, and participants: Postmortem examination of the testes from 12 COVID-19 patients was performed using light and electron microscopy, and immunohistochemistry for lymphocytic and histiocytic markers. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the virus in testicular tissue. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Seminiferous tubular injury was assessed as none, mild, moderate, or severe according to the extent of tubular damage. Leydig cells in the interstitium were counted in ten 400Â microscopy fields. Results and limitations: Microscopically, Sertoli cells showed swelling, vacuolation and cytoplasmic rarefaction, detachment from tubular basement membranes, and loss and sloughing into lumens of the intratubular cell mass. Two, five, and four of 11 cases showed mild, moderate, and severe injury, respectively. The mean number of Leydig cells in COVID-19 testes was significantly lower than in the control group (2.2 vs 7.8, p < 0.001). In the interstitium there was edema and mild inflammatory infiltrates composed of T lymphocytes and histiocytes. Transmission EM did not identify viral particles in three cases. RT-PCR detected the virus in one of 12 cases. Conclusions: Testes from COVID-19 patients exhibited significant seminiferous tubular injury, reduced Leydig cells, and mild lymphocytic inflammation. We found no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the testes in the majority (90%) of the cases by RT-PCR, and in none by electron microscopy. These findings can provide evidence-based guidance for sperm donation and inform management strategies to mitigate the risk of testicular injury during the COVID-19 disease course.

The lung tissue microbiota features of 20 deceased patients with COVID-19 To the EditorWe read with great interest the article by Yanan Chu and colleagues, accepted for publication in the Journal of Infection. 1 Secondary infection and sepsis are common complications in critically ill patients with COVID-19, 2 , 3 but the underlying pathogen is not clear. We investigated the microbiota characteristics of lung tissue from 20 deceased COVID-19 patients. All cases met the COVID-19 clinical diagnostic criteria provided by the

This study examined the effect of ingesting 3 isocaloric meals with different glycemic indices (GI) and glycemic loads (GL) 2 hr before exercise on metabolic responses and endurance running performance. Eight male runners completed 3 trials in a randomized order, separated by at least 7 days. Carbohydrate (CHO) content (%), GI, and GL were, respectively, 65%, 79, and 82 for the high-GI/high-GL meal (H-H); 65%, 40, and 42 for the low-GI/low-GL meal (L-L); and 36%, 78, and 44 for the high-GI/low-GL meal (H-L). Each trial consisted of a 1-hr run at 70% VO2max, followed by a 10-km performance run. Low-GL diets (H-L and L-L) were found to induce smaller metabolic changes during the postprandial period and during exercise, which were characterized by a lower CHO oxidation in the 2 trials (p < .05) and a concomitant, higher glycerol and free-fatty-acid concentration in the H-L trial (p < .05). There was no difference, however, in time to complete the preloaded 10-km performance run between trials. This suggests that the GL of the preexercise meal has an important role in determining subsequent metabolic responses.