Potential value of neuroimmunotherapy for COVID-19: efficacies and mechanisms of vagus nerve stimulation, electroacupuncture, and cholinergic drugs

Abstract

COVID-19 is an inflammatory disease with multiple organs involved, mainly respiratory symptoms. Although the majority of patients with COVID-19 present with a mild to moderate self-limited course of illness, about 5-10% of patients with inflammatory disorders in severe COVID-19 have life-threatening progression. With the exception of a few drugs that have shown outstanding anti-COVID-19 effects, the efficacy of most drugs remains controversial. An increasing number of animal and clinical studies have shown that neuromodulation has a significant effect on reducing inflammatory markers of COVID-19, thus exerting an effective neuroimmunotherapeutic value. Currently, the main neuroimmunomodulatory measures effective against COVID-19 include vagus nerve stimulation, electroacupuncture, and cholinergic drugs. In this review, we will summarize the research progress of potential value of this neuroimmunotherapy measures for COVID-19 and elaborate its efficacies and mechanisms, in order to provide reliable evidence for clinical intervention.

Electroacupuncture targeting the immune system to alleviate sepsis

“…It has been practiced in the clinic for over 2,000 years. Acupuncture is advantageous for treating infectious diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) [10] , sepsis [11] , COVID-19 [12] , major Leishmania infection [13] , acute pancreatitis [14] , and inflammatory arthritis [15] . Electroacupuncture (EA) is a type of therapy that involves inserting acupuncture needles into acupoints and delivering a stimulating current to the acupoints.…”