Adv Exp Med Biol . The Potential Impact of Statins in the Treatment of Patients with COVID-19 Infection

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Adv Exp Med Biol


. 2021;1352:149-158.
doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-85109-5_9.
The Potential Impact of Statins in the Treatment of Patients with COVID-19 Infection


Reza Jafarzadeh Esfehani ¹ , Mohammad Vojdanparast ² , Saman Soleimanpour ^{3 4 5 6} , Gordon A Ferns ⁷ , Amir Avan ^{8 9}



Affiliations

• PMID: 35132599
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-85109-5_9

Abstract

Introduction: Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs that also have anti-inflammatory/ immunomodulatory properties, and have been suggested as an adjunct therapy for COVID-19.
Methods: To investigate the clinical impact of statins as a potential therapeutic approach in the treatment of cases infected with COVID-19, a systematic search was performed using PubMed and Google Scholar databases. To extend the search results, a set of keywords were used as follows: ("corona virus" OR "Covid-19" OR "SARS-Cov-2" OR "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2" OR coronavirus) AND (Statins), alongside a manual search in Google Scholar search engine.
Results: It has also been suggested that statins could influence the entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) into cells by altering the expression of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and CD143 receptors. Statins may be beneficial for COVID-19 patients according to its pleiotropic effects, although, from the clinical aspect, these pleiotropic effects of statins may not be as strong as in preclinical phase on COVID-19. A retrospective study showed favorable effects for statins in SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Conclusion: Patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection have a high risk of cardiovascular and thrombotic complications and pleiotropic effects of statins may help manage the COVID-19. There is growing evidence that supports the need for trials of statin treatment in COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: Anti-inflammatory activity; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Statins.