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Can melatonin reduce the severity of COVID-19 pandemic?

Shneider et al., International Reviews of Immunology, doi:10.1080/08830185.2020.1756284

Apr 2020

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Review of the potential benefits of melatonin for COVID-19.

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Shneider et al., 29 Apr 2020, peer-reviewed, 3 authors.

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Can melatonin reduce the severity of COVID-19 pandemic?

Alex Shneider, Aleksandr Kudriavtsev, Anna Vakhrusheva

International Reviews of Immunology, doi:10.1080/08830185.2020.1756284

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.

Disclosure statement The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported. The authors declare that they did not receive financial support from any private or public institution for performing this work, writing and publishing this paper.

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