An in-silico study to find potential effective circRNAs in the progression of Huntington’s disease

Objective(s): Huntington’s disease (HD) is identified as a progressive genetic disorder caused by a mutation in the Huntington gene. Although the pathogenesis of this disease has not been fully understood, investigations have demonstrated the role of various genes and non-coding RNAs in the disease progression. In this study, we aimed to discover the potential promising circRNAs which can bind to miRNAs of HD. Materials and Methods: We used several bioinformatics tools such as ENCORI, Cytoscape, circBase, Knime, and Enrichr to collect possible circRNAs and then evaluate their connections with target miRNAs to reach this goal. We also found the probable relationship between parental genes of these circRNAs and the disease progress. Results: According to the data collected, more than 370 thousand circRNA-miRNA interactions were found for 57 target miRNAs. Several of circRNAs were spliced out of parental genes involved in the etiology of HD. Some of them need to be further investigated to elucidate their role in this neurodegenerative disease.Conclusion: This in silico investigation highlights the potential role of circRNAs in the progression of HD and opens up new horizons for drug discovery as well as diagnostic approaches for the disease

An overview of amenorrhea and respective remedies in Traditional Persian Medicine

Amenorrhea is described as complete absence or cessation of menstruation. Besides conventional treatment approaches, traditional and complementary medical systems have suggested numerous natural medications for management of amenorrhea. Current study aimed to compile the pharmacological reports on amenorrhea from the standpoints of early Persian scholars. Medical and pharmaceutical manuscripts of Persian medicine from 9th to 18th centuries A.D. have been reviewed to extract the critical points and natural remedies. Based on Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM), impairment in uterus, brain and circulation are main causes of amenorrhea. Any obstruction, either anatomical or functional, in uterus and allied organs or tissues may lead the body to this disorder. Concerning herbal therapy of amenorrhea in TPM, 71 medicinal plants related to 35 families were found. The most prevalent families were Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Fabaceae, respectively. Usual routes of administration were oral, vaginal and topical. However, there was one report on a medicament, spoken to be effective nasally. Traditionally, emmenagogue medicines should possess diuretic activity to be effective for amenorrhea. All reported remedies were known as diuretic agents. However, this description is not corresponded with what is now accepted as diuretic. On the other hand, only Foeniculum vulgare showed therapeutic effects on amenorrhea in a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Despite lack of novel information on emmenagogue activity of these remedies, design and conducting evidence-based animal or human studies may be beneficial for new drug discovery from traditional knowledge. </p

Harnessing the non-specific immunogenic effects of available vaccines to combat COVID-19

No proven remedy is identified for COVID-19 yet. SARS-CoV-2, the viral agent, is recognized by some endosomal and cytosolic receptors following cell entry, entailing innate and adaptive immunity stimulation, notably through interferon induction. Impairment in immunity activation in some patients, mostly elderlies, leads to high mortalities; thus, promoting immune responses may help. BCG vaccine is under investigation to prevent COVID-19 due to its non-specific effects on the immune system. However, other complementary immune-induction methods at early stages of the disease may be needed. Here, the potentially preventive immunologic effects of BCG and influenza vaccination are compared with the immune response defects caused by aging and COVID-19. BCG co-administration with interferon-α/-β, or influenza vaccine is suggested to overcome its shortcomings in interferon signaling against COVID-19. However, further studies are highly recommended to assess the outcomes of such interventions considering their probable adverse effects especially augmented innate immune responses and overproduction of proinflammatory mediators

Author Correction: A systems pharmacology approach to identify the autophagy‑inducing effects of Traditional Persian medicinal plants

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper