Abstract: medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.21.20151423; this version posted July 29, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint
(which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.
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Resveratrol and Copper for treatment of severe COVID-19:
an observational study (RESCU 002)
Indraneel Mittra 1,2, Rosemarie de Souza 3, Rakesh Bhadade 3, Tushar Madke 3
P.D.Shankpal 3, Mohan Joshi 3, Burhanuddin Qayyumi 1,2, Atanu Bhattacharjee 1,2,
Vikram Gota 1,2, Sudeep Gupta 1,2, Pankaj Chaturvedi 1,2, Rajendra Badwe 1,2
1 Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, India, 2 Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai,
India, 3 BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai, India
Correspondence to:
Rajendra Badwe
Tata Memorial Centre
Mumbai, India.
badwera@tmc.gov.in
NOTE: This preprint reports new research that has not been certified by peer review and should not be used to guide clinical practice.
1
medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.21.20151423; this version posted July 29, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint
(which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.
All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
Abstract
Background
To be universally applicable in treatment of severe COVID-19, novel therapies,
especially those with little toxicity and low cost, are urgently needed. We report here
the use of one such therapeutic combination involving two commonly used
nutraceuticals, namely resveratrol and copper in patients with this disease. This study
was prompted by pre-clinical reports that sepsis-related cytokine storm and fatality in
mice can be prevented by oral administration of small quantities of resveratrol and
copper. Since cytokine storm and sepsis are major causes of death in severe COVID19, we retrospectively analyzed outcomes of patients with this condition who had
received resveratrol and copper.
Methods & Findings
Our analysis comprised of 230 patients with severe COVID-19 requiring inhaled
oxygen who were admitted in a single tertiary care hospital in Mumbai between April
1 and May 13 2020. Thirty of these patients received, in addition to standard care,
resveratrol and copper at doses of 5.6 mg and 560 ng, respectively, orally, once every
6 hours, until discharge or death. These doses were based on our pre-clinical studies,
and were nearly 50 times and 2000 times less, respectively, than those recommended
as health supplements. A multivariable-adjusted analysis was used to model the
outcome of death in these patients and evaluate factors associated with this event. A
binary logistic regression analysis was used, with age, sex, presence of comorbidities
and receipt of resveratrol-copper as covariates. Data were updated as of May 30 2020.
The number of deaths in resveratrol-copper and standard care only groups were 7/30
2
medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.21.20151423; this version posted July 29, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint
(which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.
All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
(23.3%, 95% CI 8.1%-38.4%) and 89/200 (44.5%, 95% CI 37.6%-51.3%),
respectively. In multivariable analysis, age >50 years [odds ratio (OR)..
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'abstract': '<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>To be '
'universally applicable in treatment of severe COVID-19, novel therapies, especially those '
'with little toxicity and low cost, are urgently needed. We report here the use of one such '
'therapeutic combination involving two commonly used nutraceuticals, namely resveratrol and '
'copper in patients with this disease. This study was prompted by pre-clinical reports that '
'sepsis-related cytokine storm and fatality in mice can be prevented by oral administration of '
'small quantities of resveratrol and copper. Since cytokine storm and sepsis are major causes '
'of death in severe COVID-19, we retrospectively analyzed outcomes of patients with this '
'condition who had received resveratrol and '
'copper.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods & '
'Findings</jats:title><jats:p>Our analysis comprised of 230 patients with severe COVID-19 '
'requiring inhaled oxygen who were admitted in a single tertiary care hospital in Mumbai '
'between April 1 and May 13 2020. Thirty of these patients received, in addition to standard '
'care, resveratrol and copper at doses of 5.6 mg and 560 ng, respectively, orally, once every '
'6 hours, until discharge or death. These doses were based on our pre-clinical studies, and '
'were nearly 50 times and 2000 times less, respectively, than those recommended as health '
'supplements. A multivariable-adjusted analysis was used to model the outcome of death in '
'these patients and evaluate factors associated with this event. A binary logistic regression '
'analysis was used, with age, sex, presence of comorbidities and receipt of resveratrol-copper '
'as covariates. Data were updated as of May 30 2020. The number of deaths in '
'resveratrol-copper and standard care only groups were 7/30 (23.3%, 95% CI 8.1%-38.4%) and '
'89/200 (44.5%, 95% CI 37.6%-51.3%), respectively. In multivariable analysis, age >50 years '
'[odds ratio (OR) 2.558, 95% CI 1.454-4.302, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic>=0.0011] and female '
'sex (OR 1.939, 95% CI 1.079-3.482, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic>=0.0267) were significantly '
'associated, while presence of co-morbidities was not significantly associated (OR 0.713, 95% '
'CI 0.405-1.256, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic>=0.2421) with death. There was a trend towards '
'reduction in death in patients receiving resveratrol-copper (OR 0.413, 95% CI 0.164-1.039, '
'<jats:italic>P</jats:italic>= '
'0.0604).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>We provide '
'preliminary results of a novel approach to the treatment of severe COVID-19 using a '
'combination of small amounts of commonly used nutraceuticals, which is non-toxic and '
'inexpensive, and therefore could be widely accessible globally. The nearly two-fold reduction '
'in mortality with resveratrol-copper observed in our study needs to be confirmed in a '
'randomized controlled trial.</jats:p></jats:sec>',
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