The effect of moderate intensity running training on reproductive system alteration induced by acetyl salicylic acid (Aspirin) in adult Wistar rats

Background: Acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) or Aspirin is one of the most widely used drugs in the world; one of its side effects is the male reproductive system alteration. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of moderate intensity aerobic exercise on ASA-induced reproductive system alteration in rats. Materials and Methods: In two stages, fifteen rats (N=15) were randomly divided into control (C, n=5), non-treatment (NT, n=5) and aerobic-treatment (AT, n=5) groups; the AT and NT groups used aspirin 12.5 mg/kg-daily/five weeks. The AT group ran at moderate intensity on a rodent-treadmill/four weeks, five sessions a week. Groups C and NT did not receive any intervention. Serum testosterone level, spermatogenesis indices and sperm parameters of rats were evaluated and the data were analyzed by one-way variance and Tukey post-hoc-test at alpha level 0.05 by SPSS. Results: Data statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the groups in terms of serum testosterone level (P=0.02), sperm quantity (P=0.0001), viability (P=0.001), maturity (P=0.0001), sperm DNA fracture (P=0.002), TDI, SI and RI indices, tubule diameter (P=0.0001), tubular epithelium thickness (P=0.0001) and number of Leydig cells (P=0.003), but there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of sperm motility (P=0.07). Tukey post-hoc-test showed that these differences were between NT and AT groups, but no significant difference was observed between C and AT. Conclusion: It can be concluded that four-week moderate exercise helps accelerate the reproductive conditions recovery to just before taking acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) or Aspirin

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of postdischarge patients with COVID-19 in Tehran, Iran: Protocol for a prospective cohort study (Tele-COVID-19 study)

Background: COVID-19 was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Given that the severe shortage of hospital beds has led to early discharge and insufficient patient education on home care routines and isolation protocols, the close follow-up of patients and their immediate relatives is an integral part of transitioning from hospital care to home care for patients with COVID-19. Objective: We designed the Tele-COVID-19 prospective cohort to follow-up with COVID-19 patients in Tehran, Iran, and improve health care delivery and the recording of postdischarge patients� clinical profiles. Methods: All adult patients who were admitted to the COVID-19 wards of teaching hospitals in Tehran, Iran were eligible to participate in this cohort study. At baseline, patients were recruited from 4 major hospitals from March 9, 2020 to May 20, 2020. Telephone follow-ups, which were led by volunteer medical students, were conducted on postdischarge days 1-3, 5, 7, 10, and 14. We collected data on a range of sociodemographic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics by using a standard questionnaire. Results: Of the 950 patients with confirmed COVID-19 who were approached, 823 (response rate: 86.6) consented and were enrolled into the cohort. Of the 823 participants, 449 (54.5) were male. The mean age of participants was 50.1 years (SD 12.6 years). During the initial data collection phase, more than 5000 phone calls were made and over 577 reports of critical patients who were in need of urgent medical attention were recorded. Conclusions: The Tele-COVID-19 cohort will provide patients with sufficient education on home care and isolation, and medical advice on care and the proper use of drugs. In addition, by preventing unnecessary hospital returns and providing information on household SARS-CoV-2 transmission as early as possible, this cohort will help with effective disease management in resource-limited settings. © Laya Jalilian Khave, Mohammad Vahidi, Dorsa Shirini, Ghazal Sanadgol, Farzad Ashrafi, Mehran Arab-Ahmadi, Alireza Fatemi, Minoosh Shabani Barzegar, Taha Hassanzadeh, Behandokht Rezaei, Alireza Zali, Davood Ommi, Shabnam Nohesara, Reza Jalili Khoshnood, Saeed Abdi, Ali Pirsalehi, Ehsan Masarat, Mostafa Shokoohi, Mohammad Karamouzian

Epidemiological Characteristics, Clinical Features, and Outcome of COVID-19 Patients in Northern Tehran, Iran; a Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Following the widespread pandemic of the novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19), this study has reported demographic and laboratory findings and clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19 admitted to a tertiary educational hospital in 99 days in Iran. Objective: We aimed to investigate in-hospital death risk factors including underlying diseases and describe the signs, symptoms, and demographic features of COVID-19 patients. Methods: All confirmed COVID-19 cases admitted from 22 February to 30 May 2020 were extracted from hospital records. A follow-up telephone survey was conducted 30 days after discharge to acquire additional data such as survival status. Distribution of demographic and clinical characteristics was presented based on survival status during hospitalization. All analyses were performed using STATA version 14 with a level of significance below 5%. Results: Among 1083 recorded patients, the rate of survival and death was 89.2% (n=966) and 10.8% (n=117), respectively. 62% of the cases (n=671) were male. The mean recovery time was 1.90 (3.4) days in survived cases, which was significantly lower than that in deceased cases 4.5 (5.2) days, p<0.001). A significantly higher rate of death was observed among patients above the age of 60 years (24.8%, p<0.001), cases with hypertension (25.4%, P<0.001) and cases without cough (17 %, p=0.002) but with shortness of breath (16.5%, p=0.001). Conclusions: Our study emphasized the significant effect of different underlying conditions as mortality factors among COVID-19 patients, namely older age spectrum, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease. By acknowledging the epidemiologic pattern and mortality factors, we have more tools to prioritize and make better judgments, and more lives can be saved