Does Evidence Exist to Blunt Inflammatory Response by Nutraceutical Supplementation during COVID-19 Pandemic? An Overview of Systematic Reviews of Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Melatonin, and Zinc
More than one year has passed since the first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 coronavirus were reported in Wuhan (China), rapidly evolving into a global pandemic. This infectious disease has become a major public health challenge in the world. Unfortunately, to date, no specific antivirals have been proven to be effective against COVID-19, and although a few vaccines are available, the mortality rate is not decreasing but is still increasing. One therapeutic strategy has been focused on infection prevention and control measures. In this regard, the use of nutraceutical supports may play a role against some aspect of the i…
An Overview of Systematic Reviews of the Role of Vitamin D on Inflammation in Patients with Diabetes and the Potentiality of Its Application on Diabetic Patients with COVID-19
Almost two years have passed since the outbreak reported for the first time in Wuhan of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), due to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 coronavirus, rapidly evolved into a pandemic. This infectious disease has stressed global health care systems. The mortality rate is higher, particularly in elderly population and in patients with comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, chronic renal disease, and malignancy. Among them, subjects with diabetes have a high risk of developing severe form of COVID-19 and show increased mortality. How diabetes contributes to COVID-19 severity remains unclear. …
COVID-19, Cation Dysmetabolism, Sialic Acid, CD147, ACE2, Viroporins, Hepcidin and Ferroptosis: A Possible Unifying Hypothesis.
Background: iron and calcium dysmetabolism, with hyperferritinemia, hypoferremia, hypocalcemia and anemia have been documented in the majority of COVID-19 patients at later/worse stages. Furthermore, complementary to ACE2, both sialic acid (SA) molecules and CD147 proved relevant host receptors for SARS-CoV-2 entry, which explains the viral attack to multiple types of cells, including erythrocytes, endothelium and neural tissue. Several authors advocated that cell ferroptosis may be the core and final cell degenerative mechanism. Methods: a literature research was performed in several scientific search engines, such as PubMed Central, Cochrane Library, Chemical Abstract Service. More than 5…
COVID-19: Hemoglobin, Iron, and Hypoxia beyond Inflammation. A Narrative Review
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has been regarded as an infective-inflammatory disease, which affects mainly lungs. More recently, a multi-organ involvement has been highlighted, with different pathways of injury. A hemoglobinopathy, hypoxia and cell iron overload might have a possible additional role. Scientific literature has pointed out two potential pathophysiological mechanisms: i) severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) interaction with hemoglobin molecule, through CD147, CD26 and other receptors located on erythrocyte and/or blood cell precursors; ii) hepcidin-mimetic action of a viral spike protein, inducing ferroportin blockage. In this translational medicine…