Background: Treatment of patients with COVID-19 has included supportive care to mainly relief symptoms of the disease. Although World Health Organization (WHO) has not recommended any effective treatments for COVID-19, there are some reports about use of antiviral drugs. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of Arbidol (ARB) on COVID-19 disease. Methods: Using an open-label randomized controlled trial, we examined the efficacy of ARB in patients with COVID-19 in a teaching hospital. One hundred eligible patients with diagnosis of COVID-19 were recruited in the study and assigned randomly to two groups of either hydroxychloroquine followed by KALETRA (Lopinavir/ritonavir) or hydroxychloroquine followed by ARB. The primary outcome was hospitalization duration and clinical improvement 7 days after admission. The criteria of improvement were relief of cough, dyspnea, and fever. Time to relief from fever was also assessed across the two groups. Without any dropouts, 100 patients were entered into the study for the final analysis at significance level of 0.05. Results: The mean age of patients was 56.6 (17.8) years and 56.2 (14.8) years in ARB and KALETRA groups, respectively. Majority of patients were male across two groups (66 and 54%). The duration of hospitalization in ARB group was significantly less than KALETRA arm (7.2 versus 9.6 days; P = 0.02). Time to relief fever was almost similar across two groups (2.7 versus 3.1 days in ARB and KALETRA arms, respectively). Peripheral oxygen saturation rate was significantly different after 7 days of admission across two groups (94% versus 92% in ARB and KALETRA groups respectively) (P = 0.02). Based on multiple linear regression analysis, IHD, Na level, and oxygen saturation at the time of admission and type of therapy were the independent adjusted variables that determined the duration of hospitalization in patients with COVID-19. Conclusion: Our findings showed that Arbidol, compared to KALETRA, significantly contributes to clinical and laboratory improvements, including peripheral oxygen saturation, requiring ICU admissions, duration of hospitalization, chest CT involvements, WBC, and ESR. We suggest further studies on ARB against COVID-19 using larger sample size and multicenter design. Trial registration: IRCT20180725040596N2 on 18 April 2020.

Helicobacter pylori is one of the most prevalent infection worldwide. It affects individuals of different age groups. Elderly people tend to resist eradication treatment and worsening of infection can lead to several gastric and non‐gastric pathologies. Aging‐associated cellular and molecular alteration can increase the risk of other pathologies such as osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, respiratory and renal dysfunction, and cancer in geriatric patients, more than other age groups. This review article highlights some of the most common old age diseases and the role of H. pylori infection as a risk factor to worsen the conditions, presented by the molecular evidences of these associations. These studies can help clinicians to understand the underlying pathogenesis of the disease and identify high‐risk patients, aiding clearer diagnosis and treatment.

Background & Objective: A burn wound is sterile immediately after injury, but opportunistic bacteria colonize the wound within 48 to 72 hours after the burn, causing delayed or failed burn wound healing. In addition, the presence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens doubles the treatment problems. Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) is a well-known antibacterial and healing agent that could be used topically to treat burn wounds. Case Series Presentation: This clinical trial study (Case Series) was performed on 20 patients with deep second-degree burns. Patients had bilateral wounds; the wound on one side of the body was considered as control (treated with silver sulfadiazine) and the other side of the body as treatment (treated with bacteria-free supernatants (BFS) of L. plantarum). The wounds were evaluated by microbial assessments and assessments related to healing. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from 4 (22.2%), 0%, and 2 (11.1%) of wounds treated with L. plantarum on the fifth day of the treatment, respectively. Furthermore, 12 (66.7%) of wounds treated with L. plantarum were free from bacteria. The need for skin grafting was the same in both treatment and control groups, but graft rejection in the group treated with L. plantarum was (0%) (P=0.02).Conclusion: Regarding eliminating or reducing infection and wound healing, bacteria-free supernatants of L. plantarum can be considered a possible topical treatment option in the case of second-degree burn wounds.

Viruses are non-living organisms that annually cause many problems for human societies. The spread of some of the most dangerous viruses causing acute pneumonia, including novel Corona virus has led to the largest death toll in the world. With a long incubation period, Corona virus causes many problems for the immune system. Studies have shown that antioxidant enzymes play an important role in reducing infection and boosting the immune system. The immune system of people with chronic infections is often weak. Specific immunity is one of the most important responses to the virus. The present study therefore investigates association of Coronavirus pathogenicity with the level of antioxidants and immune system.

Background and Objectives: Burn wounds are one of the most important health problems all over the world because infection after burn can delay wound healing. Treating burn wounds with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is known to improve healing of injured tissue. In addition, colistin is prescribed as an effective treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of G-CSF and colistin alone or in combination with G-CSF on wound healing of Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) infected burns. Materials and Methods: This study was performed between January 2016 and April 2018. Burn wounds were experimentally induced in 36 mice. The wounds were inoculated with A. baumannii. In a 7-day period, burn wounds in each group were daily treated with subcutaneous injections (0.1 ml) of saline, G-CSF, colistin, and G-CSF plus colistin. After killing the animals, the size of the wound, number of leukocytes in the skin and microbial growth were evaluated. A value of p <= 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Wound healing in the G-CSF plus colistin group was significantly higher than the control group and the G-CSF group (P = 0.023 and P = 0.033, respectively). In G-CSF+colistin group, the number of leukocytes was higher than the control group considerably (P = 0.007). On the 7th day of treatment, number of positive bacterial cultures in the colistin and the G-CSF plus colistin groups was lower than other groups with a significant difference. Conclusion: Concurrent consumption of G-CSF and antibiotics can control burn infection and enhance the immune system towards wound healing.