Rationale for the use of N-acetylcysteine in both prevention and adjuvant therapy of COVID-19

• Published in: The FASEB journal Vol. 34; no. 10; p. 13185
• Main Authors: De Flora, Silvio, Balansky, Roumen, La Maestra, Sebastiano
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.10.2020
• Subjects: Acetylcysteine - therapeutic use; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 - antagonists & inhibitors; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 - metabolism; Antioxidants - therapeutic use; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; COVID-19 - drug therapy; COVID-19 - metabolism; COVID-19 - pathology; Humans; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; SARS-CoV-2 - metabolism; Virus Internalization - drug effects; COVID-19; inflammation; glutathione; oxidative stress; N-acetyl-L-cysteine

COVID-19 may cause pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, cardiovascular alterations, and multiple organ failure, which have been ascribed to a cytokine storm, a systemic inflammatory response, and an attack by the immune system. Moreover, an oxidative stress imbalance has been demonstrated...