Performance of 30 commercial SARS-CoV-2 serology assays in testing symptomatic COVID-19 patients.

We report evaluation of 30 assays' (17 rapid tests (RDTs) and 13 automated/manual ELISA/CLIA assay (IAs)) clinical performances with 2594 sera collected from symptomatic patients with positive SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR on a respiratory sample, and 1996 pre-epidemic serum samples expected to be negative. Only 4 RDT and 3 IAs fitted both specificity (> 98%) and sensitivity (> 90%) criteria according to French recommendations. Serology may offer valuable information during COVID-19 pandemic, but inconsistent performances observed among the 30 commercial assays evaluated, which underlines the importance of independent evaluation before clinical implementation.

Effects of Nigella sativa seeds (black cumin) on insulin secretion and lipid profile: A pilot study in healthy volunteers.

It has been claimed that Nigella sativa seeds (NSS), also known as black cumin, have antidiabetic and lipid-lowering properties. Our pilot study investigated the effects of powdered NSS on insulin secretion and lipid profile in healthy male volunteers. We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled 4-week trial in 30 subjects, receiving NSS powder (1 g/day) or placebo orally (15 subjects/group).