Potential COVID -19 Therapeutics in Clinical Trials – A Brief Review

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS – CoV2), the causative viral pathogen of the COVID-19 pandemic belongs to the family of Coronaviruses which are positive single stranded RNA viruses. The scientific fraternity has developed and developing various types of vaccines for prevention against COVID-19, such as inactivated virus vaccines, mRNA vaccines, replicating vector protein subunit vaccines, etc., Out of which ten vaccines namely Novovax, Covovax (protein subunit vaccines), Pfizer BNT16b2, Moderna mRNA 1273 (mRNA vaccines), Johnson & Johnson Ad26, Cov2.S, Astrazeneca AZD1222, Covishield (non-replicating viral vector vaccines), Covaxin, Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV, CoronoVac (inactivated vaccines) have been approved for clinical use by WHO. There is an urgent need for SARS-CoV2 specific therapeutics for the treatment of COVID-19 as there is the emergence of various variants such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omicron, etc. The emergence of variants that possesses immune evading property and spike protein mutation have increased infectivity and more pathogenicity which impelled the need to develop various therapeutics for the treatment of COVID-19. This review compiles the information about potential antiviral candidates in preclinical trials intended for the treatment of COVID-19. The clinical development of such antivirals will be very crucial for the treatment of COVID-19 and also to curb the spread as the present scenario depends on the development of effective prophylactic vaccines

Efficacy of vaginal weights in pelvic floor dysfunction: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) affects women's quality of life because the pelvic floor muscles are unable to contract and relax properly. Kegel exercise is the first line of treatment for PFD, while vaginal cones with weights have recently been used for pelvic floor strengthening. When compared to alternative treatments, various studies have evaluated the effectiveness of vaginal weights or cones in treating PFD. However, there are controversial conclusions reached when the effectiveness of vaginal weights is compared in various ways. The purpose of this study was determine the effectiveness of vaginal weights compared with other interventions in reducing the symptoms of PFD. Using various databases, an extensive literature search was conducted, and a randomised control trial examining the usefulness of vaginal weights in PFD was identified. PRISMA guidelines were used to synthesize the data. The risk of bias tools were used to assess the quality of the selected studies. Results suggest that vaginal cones are effective in treating PFD. However, when it was compared with other treatment modalities, no significant differences were found. Hence, the results are equivocal and cannot be generalized