Emerg Microbes Infect . A comparison between virus- versus patients-centred therapeutic attempts to reduce COVID-19 mortality

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Emerg Microbes Infect


. 2021 Nov 16;1-20.
doi: 10.1080/22221751.2021.2006579. Online ahead of print.
A comparison between virus- versus patients-centred therapeutic attempts to reduce COVID-19 mortality


Serge Camelo ¹ , Mathilde Latil ¹ , Sam Agus ² , Waly Dioh ¹ , Stanislas Veillet ¹ , René Lafont ^{1 3} , Pierre J Dilda ¹



Affiliations

• PMID: 34783636
• DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2021.2006579

Abstract

AbstractSince December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has changed our lives. Elderly, and those with comorbidities represent the vast majority of patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 symptoms, including acute respiratory disease syndrome, and cardiac dysfunction. Despite a huge effort of the scientific community, improved treatment modalities limiting the severity and mortality of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, are still required. Here, we compare the effectiveness of virus- and patients-centred strategies to reduce COVID-19 mortality. We also discuss the therapeutic options that might further reduce death rates associated with the disease in the future. Unexpectedly, extensive review of the literature suggests that SARS-CoV-2 viral load seems to be associated neither with the severity of symptoms nor with mortality of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. This may explain why, so far, virus-centred strategies using antivirals aiming to inhibit the viral replicative machinery, have failed to reduce COVID-19 mortality in patients with respiratory failure. By contrast, anti-inflammatory treatments without antiviral capacities but centred on patients, such as dexamethasone or Tocilizumab®, reduce COVID-19 mortality. Finally, since the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds to Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) and inhibits its function, we explore the different treatment options focussing on rebalancing the Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS). This new therapeutic strategy could hopefully further reduce the severity of respiratory failure and limit COVID-19 mortality in elderly patients.

Keywords: Aging; Angiotensin-(1-7); Angiotensin-II; Antivirals; C-Reactive Protein; COVID-19; Dexamethasone; IL-6; Mas receptor; Remdesivir; Renin-Angiotensin System; SARS-CoV-2; Tocilizumab; by alphabetical order: ACE2.