Potential Value of Neuroimmunotherapy for COVID-19: Efficacies and Mechanisms of Vagus Nerve Stimulation, Electroacupuncture, and Cholinergic Drugs

Overview

Journal Front Immunol

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2023 Jul 21

PMID 37475861

Authors

Xianqiang Yu

Qingming Kong

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

COVID-19 is an inflammatory disease with multiple organs involved, mainly respiratory symptoms. Although the majority of patients with COVID-19 present with a mild to moderate self-limited course of illness, about 5-10% of patients with inflammatory disorders in severe COVID-19 have life-threatening progression. With the exception of a few drugs that have shown outstanding anti-COVID-19 effects, the efficacy of most drugs remains controversial. An increasing number of animal and clinical studies have shown that neuromodulation has a significant effect on reducing inflammatory markers of COVID-19, thus exerting an effective neuroimmunotherapeutic value. Currently, the main neuroimmunomodulatory measures effective against COVID-19 include vagus nerve stimulation, electroacupuncture, and cholinergic drugs. In this review, we will summarize the research progress of potential value of this neuroimmunotherapy measures for COVID-19 and elaborate its efficacies and mechanisms, in order to provide reliable evidence for clinical intervention.

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