Summary

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and the disease now affects nearly every country and region. Caused by SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 continues nearly 18 months later to present significant challenges to health systems and public health in both hemispheres, as well as the economies of every country. The morbidity and mortality of the infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been significant, and various waves of disease outbreaks initially overwhelmed many hospitals and clinics and continue to do so in many countries. This influences everyone, and public health countermeasures have been dramatic in terms of their impact on employment, social systems, and mental health. This entry collection aims to gather diverse fields about COVID-19, including in epidemiology, public health, medicine, genetics, systems biology, informatics, data science, engineering, sociology, anthropology, nursing, environmental studies, statistics, and psychology.

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Entries
Topic Review
Subclinical Acute Kidney Injury in Patients with COVID-19
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 disease, a bidirectional interaction between kidney disease and the progression of COVID-19 has been demonstrated. Kidney disease is an independent risk factor for mortality of patients with COVID-19 as well as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection leading to the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with COVID-19. However, the detection of kidney damage in patients with COVID-19 may not occur until an advanced stage based on the current clinical blood and urinary examinations. Some studies have pointed out the development of subclinical acute kidney injury (subAKI) syndrome with COVID-19. This syndrome is characterized by significant tubule interstitial injury without changes in the estimated glomerular filtration rate. Despite the complexity of the mechanism(s) underlying the development of subAKI, the involvement of changes in the protein endocytosis machinery in proximal tubule (PT) epithelial cells (PTECs) has been proposed.
  • 974
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Application of Supercritical Fluids in COVID-19
Even though years have passed since the emergence of COVID-19, the research for novel or repositioned medicines from a natural source or chemically synthesized is still an unmet clinical need. There are three main applications of the supercritical fluids in this field: (i) drug micronization, (ii) supercritical fluid extraction of bioactives and (iii) sterilization. The supercritical fluids micronization techniques can help to improve the aqueous solubility and oral bioavailability of drugs, and consequently, the need for lower doses to elicit the same pharmacological effects can result in the reduction in the dose administered and adverse effects. In addition, micronization between 1 and 5 µm can aid in the manufacturing of pulmonary formulations to target the drug directly to the lung. Supercritical fluids also have enormous potential in the extraction of natural bioactive compounds, which have shown remarkable efficacy against COVID-19. Finally, the successful application of supercritical fluids in the inactivation of viruses opens up an opportunity for their application in drug sterilization and in the healthcare field.
  • 959
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Complement–Sphingolipid System in COVID-19 and Gaucher Diseases
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-induced disease (COVID-19) and Gaucher disease (GD) exhibit upregulation of complement 5a (C5a) and its C5aR1 receptor, and excess synthesis of glycosphingolipids that lead to increased infiltration and activation of innate and adaptive immune cells, resulting in massive generation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. This C5a–C5aR1–glycosphingolipid pathway- induced pro-inflammatory environment causes the tissue damage in COVID-19 and GD. Strikingly, pharmaceutically targeting the C5a–C5aR1 axis or the glycosphingolipid synthesis pathway led to a reduction in glycosphingolipid synthesis and innate and adaptive immune inflammation, and protection from the tissue destruction in both COVID-19 and GD. 
  • 1.1K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Trained Immunity against Emerging Respiratory Pathogens
Although parental vaccines offer long-term protection against homologous strains, they rely exclusively on adaptive immune memory to produce neutralizing antibodies that are ineffective against emerging viral variants. Growing evidence highlights the multifaceted functions of trained immunity to elicit a rapid and enhanced innate response against unrelated stimuli or pathogens to subsequent triggers. Training immunity is pertinent in the advent of unprecedented respiratory infections, which are usually limited to the timeline of vaccine development.
  • 1.5K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Connections between COVID-19 and Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases and SARS-CoV-2 infections are intertwined in several ways. Both conditions lead to immune-mediated tissue damage, the immune response is accompanied by the increased secretion of inflammatory cytokines and both conditions can be treated using immunomodulatory drugs. Patients with certain autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, cardiac sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, autoimmune hepatitis, multiple sclerosis and others, are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, either because of the active autoimmune disease or because of the medications used to treat it. Conversely, SARS-CoV-2 infection can also cause certain autoimmune diseases. 
  • 1.1K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children in COVID-19
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) has been widely reported in some children diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2. Clinical signs of MIS-C are manifested at 2 to 4 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection, where elevated biomarkers of inflammation and cardiac dysfunction are the hallmark of this syndrome when infection or exposure to SARS-CoV-2 has been confirmed.
  • 1.3K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Natural Language Processing for the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic is the most devastating public health crisis and has affected the lives of billions of people worldwide in unprecedented ways. Compared to pandemics of this scale in the past, societies are now equipped with advanced technologies that can mitigate the impacts of pandemics if utilized appropriately. However, opportunities are not fully utilized, particularly at the intersection of data science and health. Health-related big data and technological advances have the potential to significantly aid the fight against such pandemics, including the pandemic’s ongoing and long-term impacts. Specifically, the field of natural language processing (NLP) has enormous potential at a time when vast amounts of text-based data are continuously generated from a multitude of sources, such as health/hospital systems, published medical literature, and social media. Effectively mitigating the impacts of the pandemic requires tackling challenges associated with the application and deployment of NLP systems.
  • 1.5K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Urological Safety and COVID-19 Vaccinations
During the COVID-19 pandemic, elective surgeries were suspended for many months, and only high-risk oncological cases were addressed, although an ambulatory follow-up and management of benign conditions, which can cause lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), were essential. In neurologic patients, for example, LUTS have a great impact on quality of life and social life, and their clinical conditions can seriously worsen if not properly addressed.
  • 1.0K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Virion Structure of SARS-CoV-2 and Viral Inflammation
COVID-19 is an epidemic infection created by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2). SARS-CoV-2 has a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA genome with 29,891 nucleotides and 38% G + C content, encoding 9860 amino acids. Human coronaviral inflammation induces the clinical symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
  • 980
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Overview of Antiviral Drug Therapy for COVID-19
The vaccine weapon has resulted in being essential in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak, but it is not fully preventing infection due to an alarming spreading of several identified variants of concern. In fact, the recent emergence of variants has pointed out how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still represents a global health threat. Moreover, oral antivirals also develop resistance, supporting the need to find new targets as therapeutic tools. However, cocktail therapy is useful to reduce drug resistance and maximize vaccination efficacy. Natural products and metal-drug-based treatments have also shown interesting antiviral activity, representing a valid contribution to counter COVID- 19 outbreak. This report summarizes the available evidence which supports the use of approved drugs and further focuses on significant clinical trials that have investigated the safety and efficacy of repurposing drugs and new molecules in different COVID-19 phenotypes. To date, there are many individuals vulnerable to COVID-19 exhibiting severe symptoms, thus characterizing valid therapeutic strategies for better management of the disease is still a challenge.
  • 942
  • 22 Nov 2022
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