The Double Edge Sword of Testosterone's Role in the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 is a complex disease with a multifaceted set of disturbances involving several mechanisms of health and disease in the human body. Sex hormones, estrogen, and testosterone, seem to play a major role in its pathogenesis, development, spread, severity, and mortalities. Examination of factors...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inFrontiers in endocrinology (Lausanne) Vol. 12; p. 607179
Main Authors Younis, Johnny S, Skorecki, Karl, Abassi, Zaid
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 16.03.2021
Subjects
ACE2
age-related
COVID-19
COVID-19 - complications
COVID-19 - drug therapy
COVID-19 - metabolism
Endocrinology
Female
Humans
hypogonadism
Hypogonadism - complications
Hypogonadism - drug therapy
Male
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2
testosterone
Testosterone - metabolism
Testosterone - therapeutic use
COVID-19
MPRSS2
ACE2
SARS-CoV-2
hypogonadism
testosterone
age-related
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:COVID-19 is a complex disease with a multifaceted set of disturbances involving several mechanisms of health and disease in the human body. Sex hormones, estrogen, and testosterone, seem to play a major role in its pathogenesis, development, spread, severity, and mortalities. Examination of factors such as age, gender, ethnic background, genetic prevalence, and existing co-morbidities, may disclose the mechanisms underlying SARS-CoV-2 infection, morbidity, and mortality, paving the way for COVID-19 amelioration and substantial flattening of the infection curve. In this mini-review, we focus on the role of testosterone through a discussion of the intricate mechanisms of disease development and deterioration. Accumulated evidence suggests that there are links between high level (normal male level) as well as low level (age-related hypogonadism) testosterone in disease progression and expansion, supporting its role as a double-edged sword. Unresolved questions point to the essential need for further targeted studies to substantiate these contrasting mechanisms.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-3
content type line 23
ObjectType-Review-1
Edited by: Alexandra Kautzky-Willer, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
Reviewed by: Giuseppe Novelli, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy; Rosaria Meccariello, University of Naples Parthenope, Italy
This article was submitted to Translational Endocrinology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology
ISSN:1664-2392
1664-2392
DOI:10.3389/fendo.2021.607179