Can melatonin reduce the severity of COVID-19 pandemic?
Review of the potential benefits of melatonin for COVID-19.
Shneider et al., 29 Apr 2020, peer-reviewed, 3 authors.
Abstract: International Reviews of Immunology
ISSN: 0883-0185 (Print) 1563-5244 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/iiri20
Can melatonin reduce the severity of COVID-19
pandemic?
Alex Shneider, Aleksandr Kudriavtsev & Anna Vakhrusheva
To cite this article: Alex Shneider, Aleksandr Kudriavtsev & Anna Vakhrusheva (2020) Can
melatonin reduce the severity of COVID-19 pandemic?, International Reviews of Immunology, 39:4,
153-162, DOI: 10.1080/08830185.2020.1756284
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/08830185.2020.1756284
Published online: 29 Apr 2020.
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INTERNATIONAL REVIEWS OF IMMUNOLOGY
2020, VOL. 39, NO. 4, 153–162
https://doi.org/10.1080/08830185.2020.1756284
COMMENTARY
Can melatonin reduce the severity of COVID-19 pandemic?
Alex Shneidera,b,e
, Aleksandr Kudriavtsevc,d
, and Anna Vakhrushevac
a
CureLab Oncology, Inc, Dedham, Massachusetts, USA; bDepartment of Molecular Biology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel; cBiological
Faculty, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia; dEmanuel Institute of Biochemical Phisics, RAS, Moscow, Russia;
e
Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg, Russia
ABSTRACT
ARTICLE HISTORY
The current COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most devastating events in recent history. The
virus causes relatively minor damage to young, healthy populations, imposing life-threatening
danger to the elderly and people with diseases of chronic inflammation. Therefore, if we could
reduce the risk for vulnerable populations, it would make the COVID-19 pandemic more similar to other typical outbreaks. Children don’t suffer from COVID-19 as much as their grandparents and have a much higher melatonin level. Bats are nocturnal animals possessing high
levels of melatonin, which may contribute to their high anti-viral resistance. Viruses induce an
explosion of inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species, and melatonin is the best
natural antioxidant that is lost with age. The programmed cell death coronaviruses cause,
which can result in significant lung damage, is also inhibited by melatonin. Coronavirus causes
inflammation in the lungs which requires inflammasome activity. Melatonin blocks these
inflammasomes. General immunity is impaired by anxiety and sleep deprivation. Melatonin
improves sleep habits, reduces anxiety and stimulates immunity. Fibrosis may be the most
dangerous complication after COVID-19. Melatonin is known to prevent fibrosis. Mechanical
ventilation may be necessary but yet imposes risks due to oxidative stress, which can be
reduced by melatonin. Thus, by using the safe over-the-counter drug melatonin, we may be
immediately able to prevent the development of severe disease symptoms in coronavirus
patients, reduce the severity of their symptoms, and/or reduce the immuno-pathology of coronavirus infection on patients’ health after the active phase of the infection is over.
Received 2 April 2020
Accepted 6 April 2020
Elderly have reduced level of melatonin
The effect of SARS-CoV-2 on humans is clearly agerelated. So far, very few deaths from COVID-19 have
been recorded in people under the age of 20, while
the elderly have an excessively high mortality rate...
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