Drugs for COVID-19: An Update

Ceramella, Jessica; Iacopetta, Domenico; Sinicropi, Maria Stefania; Andreu, Inmaculada; Mariconda, Annaluisa; Saturnino, Carmela; Giuzio, Federica; Longo, Pasquale; Aquaro, Stefano; Catalano, Alessia

doi:10.3390/molecules27238562

Cited by 22 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…Furthermore, it should be considered that many of these biomarkers, and especially those most strictly related to cytokine storm, could also be valuable tools to monitor therapeutic responses (i.e., CRP and IL6 after 7 days of hospitalization) and promising direct (i.e., IL6) or indirect (i.e., D-dimer) pharmacological targets in selected patients. Lastly, it is noteworthy that the continuous biotechnological progresses in the field of COVID-19 biomarkers discovery have also led to new and promising findings in terms of possible therapeutic approaches, as demonstrated by the anti-inflammatory and anti-viral activity of heparin [ 198 , 199 , 200 ], by the ability of IL6 and other IL- and cytokine-signaling inhibitors to improve the disease course [ 101 , 102 , 109 , 110 , 201 , 202 , 203 , 204 , 205 ] and by the promising antiviral effects of the already existing Gas6/TAM axis inhibitors [ 131 , 150 , 151 ]. Moreover, several studies are currently focused on both drug repurposing and new drug development, thus representing new potential options to directly or indirectly target several key mediators of COVID-19 pathogenesis [ 203 , 206 , 207 , 208 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Biomarkers at the Crossroad between Patient Stratification and Targeted Therapy: The Role of Validated and Proposed Parameters

Rizzi

D’Onghia

Tonello

et al. 2023

IJMS

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Clinical knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanisms and COVID-19 pathophysiology have enormously increased during the pandemic. Nevertheless, because of the great heterogeneity of disease manifestations, a precise patient stratification at admission is still difficult, thus rendering a rational allocation of limited medical resources as well as a tailored therapeutic approach challenging. To date, many hematologic biomarkers have been validated to support the early triage of SARS-CoV-2-positive patients and to monitor their disease progression. Among them, some indices have proven to be not only predictive parameters, but also direct or indirect pharmacological targets, thus allowing for a more tailored approach to single-patient symptoms, especially in those with severe progressive disease. While many blood test-derived parameters quickly entered routine clinical practice, other circulating biomarkers have been proposed by several researchers who have investigated their reliability in specific patient cohorts. Despite their usefulness in specific contexts as well as their potential interest as therapeutic targets, such experimental markers have not been implemented in routine clinical practice, mainly due to their higher costs and low availability in general hospital settings. This narrative review will present an overview of the most commonly adopted biomarkers in clinical practice and of the most promising ones emerging from specific population studies. Considering that each of the validated markers reflects a specific aspect of COVID-19 evolution, embedding new highly informative markers into routine clinical testing could help not only in early patient stratification, but also in guiding a timely and tailored method of therapeutic intervention.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Biomarkers at the Crossroad between Patient Stratification and Targeted Therapy: The Role of Validated and Proposed Parameters

Rizzi

D’Onghia

Tonello

et al. 2023

IJMS

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“…Vitamin D plays an important role in the modulation of immune response [ 15 ]. Other authors have raised the question in regard to its use as a predictive factor [ 16 , 44 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, it promotes anti-inflammatory cytokine production [ 14 ]. A few studies have suggested a link between symptomatology, severity and outcomes in regard to concentrations of vitamin D [ 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Inflammatory Markers and Vitamin D Relationship in Pediatric Patients

Bagiu

Scurtu

Horhat

et al. 2022

Life

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Background: Biomarkers play an important role in COVID-19, and more research in this regard is needed, especially in the case of children. This study aimed to look for a link between the C reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), vitamin D and COVID-19 in pediatric patients. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study, performed on children diagnosed positively with COVID-19 at a children’s hospital in western Romania. Available CRP, LDH, CK vitamin D and clinical severity were recorded. For each biomarker, groups were formed by patients’ age. Mean/median group differences were assessed using Student’s t test or Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis with Dunn’s post hoc tests. Association was assessed using the chi2 test, while correlation was assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Results: 181 positive children were studied between 1 August 2021 and 1 February 2022. Average age was 8.76 years (SD = 3.93). There were 94 (51.93%) males and 87 (48.07%) females. The cases were: 62 asymptomatic (34.25%), 107 mild (59.12%), 9 moderate (4.97%), 3 severe (1.66%). Regarding CRP, a significant difference between older and younger patients was observed (p = 0.0034). Clinical severity was associated with CRP (p = 0.0281), LDH (p = 0.0410) and vitamin D (p = 0.0444). Regarding CK, no differences or associations proved significant. Correlation testing was conducted for CRP, LDH, vitamin D and clinical signs. With the exception of LDH-CRP and LDH-vitamin D, all relationships proved statistically significant. Conclusions: CRP, LDH and vitamin D levels are important biomarkers for COVID-19-positive pediatric patients, while CK was mostly within normal ranges.

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“…As of 23 December 2022, 651 million confirmed cases worldwide, including 6.65 million deaths, were reported by the World Health Organization [ 1 ]. Over the past three years, research on several drugs, including antivirals and vaccines, against COVID-19 has been conducted [ 2 ]. The first therapeutic strategy against COVID-19 was to control virus proliferation and immune responses in patients at the early stages of infection to prevent severe disease [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antiviral Effect of Ephedrine Alkaloids-Free Ephedra Herb Extract against SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro

et al. 2023

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We report for the first time that ephedrine alkaloids-free Ephedra Herb extract (EFE) directly inhibits the replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro and that the addition of EFE to the culture medium before viral infection reduces virus titers in the culture supernatant of SARS-CoV-2, including those of variant strains, by more than 99%, 24 h after infection. The addition of Ephedra Herb macromolecule condensed-tannin, which is the main active ingredient responsible for the anticancer, pain suppression, and anti-influenza effects of EFE, similarly suppressed virus production in the culture supernatant by 99% before infection and by more than 90% after infection. Since EFE does not have the side effects caused by ephedrine alkaloids, such as hypertension, palpitations, and insomnia, our results showed the potential of EFE as a safe therapeutic agent against coronavirus disease 2019.

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Drugs for COVID-19: An Update

Cited by 22 publications

References 99 publications

COVID-19 Biomarkers at the Crossroad between Patient Stratification and Targeted Therapy: The Role of Validated and Proposed Parameters

COVID-19 Biomarkers at the Crossroad between Patient Stratification and Targeted Therapy: The Role of Validated and Proposed Parameters

COVID-19 Inflammatory Markers and Vitamin D Relationship in Pediatric Patients

Antiviral Effect of Ephedrine Alkaloids-Free Ephedra Herb Extract against SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro

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