Micronutrient zinc roles in adjunctive therapy for COVID-19 by enhancing patients immunoregulation and tolerance to the pathogen

This study is to review the literature on how zinc status may affect susceptibility and outcomes of a viral infection, as well as to explore the possible beneficial effects of supplementing zinc to alleviate COVID-19 duration and severity. We propose zinc supplementation as a viable therapeutic approach when used alone or in combination with other drugs to combat cytokine storm syndrome in COVID-19 patients. The supplementation may be especially effective for elderly patients or patients with co-morbidity already deficient in zinc. More level I randomized controlled studies are needed to determine the clinical efficacy of zinc supplementation as a potential low-cost intervention to reduce morbidity and mortality due to pneumonia and ARDS in COVID-19 patients.
Source: Reviews in Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Tags: VIROLOGY Source Type: research