سجاد سالاری

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can affect the peripheral and central nervous system. Headache, cerebrovascular disease, anosmia, taste and vision disorders, and neuropathic pain have been observed in patients with COVID-19. In this study, the effect of predisposing factors, such as blood sugar level and age, on the occurrence of changes in the function of some cranial nerves has been investigated.

In this study, 1138 men and women with COVID-19 (18-89 years old) hospitalized in Shahid Mostafa Hospital in Ilam City without a history of diabetes were studied. Fasting blood sugar levels, taste disorders, smell disorders, sore throat, and various blood factors were studied in these individuals.

The rate of dysfunction of the 1st, sensory part of the 7th, and the 9th cranial nerves in non-diabetic patients with COVID-19 showed an inverse correlation with blood sugar level. Furthermore, the incidence of smell and taste disorders in patients with COVID-19 without a history of diabetes showed an inverse correlation with increasing age.

Coronavirus can cause partial or complete dysfunction in the activity of some cranial nerves.  The incidence of impaired sense of smell and taste in patients with COVID-19 decreases with increasing fasting blood sugar levels as well as with increasing age.

The SARS-CoV-2 can increase blood levels of D-dimer by causing thrombosis and affecting the homeostasis system. This study aimed at investigating the blood levels of D-Dimer and its relationship with the incidence of headache in patients with type 2 diabetes infected with COVID-19 who were admitted to Ilam Shahid Mostafa Hospital, Iran.

We studied the patients hospitalized in Ilam Shahid Mostafa Hospital. with COVID-19 (n=988) in two groups of with and without diabetes. Blood levels of D-dimer, and glucose, and also the incidence of headache were evaluated in all patients.

Fasting blood sugar levels, blood levels of D-dimer, white blood cell count, and ESR significantly increased in diabetic patients with COVID-19 compared with the non-diabetic patients (P<0.001). The incidence of headache was found to be significantly lower in diabetic patients than non-diabetic patients (n= 91, P= 0.0009).

According to present research, there is an inverse relationship between the blood levels of D-dimer and incidence of headache in diabetic people with COVID-19, as by increase in blood levels of D-dimer the incidence of headache decreased.

 There is inconsistent data regarding COVID-19 prognosis in patients with background hypothyroid disorder. The present study aimed to evaluate the severity of symptoms and blood parameters in COVID-19 patients with hypothyroidism.

 This study investigated 100 COVID-19 patients (50 individuals with a history of hypothyroidism and 50 patients without thyroid disorder [euthyroid]). Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected from the COVID-19 registry database in Shahid Mustafa Khomeini Hospital. All patients were admitted and treated between March and December 2020. Hospitalization duration, the ICU admissions rate, and blood laboratory tests were evaluated in this study.

 Hospitalization period was significantly longer in the hypothyroid group, compared to the euthyroid group (P=0.009). The number of red blood cells (RBCs), hemoglobin level, and hematocrit percentage were lower in the hypothyroid group (P=0.001, P=0.003, and P=0.003, respectively). Nevertheless, the number of white blood cells (WBCs) and inflammatory indicators, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were the same in both groups.

 Although background hypothyroidism had no significant effect on inflammation severity caused by COVID-19; however; it extended hospital stay in these patients. Anemia, a common problem in hypothyroidism, may explain longer hospitalization in hypothyroid COVID-19 patients.

Pompe disease or type II glycogen storage disease is a rare autosomal hereditary disease. The prevalence of the disease is about 1 in 40,000 to 1 in 300,000 population. It usually occurs as a result of glycogen accretion following acid maltase deficiency. The current treatment is enzyme replacement therapy, which may slow down the disease progression. Sometimes, the clinical presentation can be atypical and lead to late recognition. This article reports a 32-year-old female with persistent fatigue and mild elevated liver transaminase levels. Biochemical analysis initially did not result in a diagnosis. Years later, increased Creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were observed. A muscle biopsy exhibited unusual glycogen accretion, followed by dried blood spot, indicative of Pompe disease. Notably, persistent raised levels of hepatic transaminases are not exclusive to liver pathology and clinicians should also consider extrahepatic causes.

In this research, corrosion behavior of explosively bonded 304 stainless steel-Ck45 carbon steel plates was investigated. Explosive welding carried out in constant explosive ratio with 4 and 5 mm standoff distances. The results showed that by standoff distance increasing, the shape of interface transited to the wavy vortex type, and locally melted zones formed. Due to shock hardening, the hardness increased in near of the interfaces, and maximum hardness was related to the sample with 5 mm standoff distance. Polarization and impedance tests results showed that maximum corrosion rate was related to the sample with maximum standoff distance. Due to the formation of locally melted zones and increasing in impact kinetic energy in the sample with maximum standoff distance, corrosion rate was increased.

Defects in endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis are common occurrences in different diseases، such as diabetes، in which the function of endoplasmic reticulum is disrupted. It is now well established that ion channels of endoplasmic reticulum membrane have a critical role in endoplasmic reticulum luminal homeostasis. Our previous studies showed the presence of an ATP-sensitive cationic channel in endoplasmic reticulum. Therefore، in this study، we examined and compared the activities of this channel in control and diabetic rats using single-channel recording techniques. Male Wistar rats were made diabetic for 2 weeks with a single dose injection of streptozotocin (45 mg/kg). Ion channel incorporation of rough endoplasmic reticulum of diabetic hepatocytes into the bilayer lipid membrane allowed the characterization of K+ channel. Ion channel incorporation of rough endoplasmic reticulum vesicles into the bilayer lipid revealed that the channel current-voltage (I-V) relation with a mean slope conductance of 520 ± 19 pS was unaffected in diabetes. Interestingly، the channel Po-voltage relation was significantly lower in diabetic rats at voltages above +30 mV. We concluded that the endoplasmic reticulum cationic channel is involved in diabetes. Also، this finding could be considered as a goal for further therapeutic plans.

we have recently reported the presence of two potassium currents with 598 and 368 pS conductance in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) membrane. The 598 pS channel was voltage dependent and ATP sensitive. However, the 368 pS channel was rarely observed and its identity remained obscure. Since cationic channels in intracellular organelles such as mitochondria and RER play important roles in intracellular signaling and cellular protection, studying their biophysical and pharmacological properties is important. we used channel incorporation into bilayer lipid membrane method. L-α-Phosphatidylcholine (PC), a membrane lipid, was extracted from fresh egg yolk. Bilayer lipid membrane was formed in a 150 μm diameter hole. Rough endoplasmic reticulum vesicles were obtained from liver after homogenization and several centrifugations. All recordings were filtered at 1 kHz and stored at a sampling rate of 10 kHz for offline analysis by PClamp9. Statistical analysis was performed based on Markov noise free single channel analysis. A 364 pS potassium channel was identified which was voltage independent in +50 to -50 mV voltages. In all voltages, open probability (Po) was over 0.9. Nonspecific inhibitor of K+ channels, 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, 20 mM), inhibited the channel activity. However, intracellular nucleotide like ATP had no effect on channel gating. We observed a new potassium channel with 346 pS conductance in RER membrane that unlike the 598 pS K channel was not ATP sensitive. This channel may play an important role in Ca2+ homeostasis and cell protection.