Statins in COVID-19 Therapy

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Pharmacology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors) are widely used for cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment.
• Statins possess pleiotropic effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and endothelial function improvement.
• COVID-19 is associated with endothelial dysfunction, thrombosis, and a cytokine storm, conditions potentially mitigated by statins.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
• To examine the proposed therapies for COVID-19.
• To evaluate the potential role of statins as adjuvant therapy in COVID-19, considering their pleiotropic activities.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent scientific literature on SARS-CoV-2 pathophysiology.
• Analysis of proposed COVID-19 therapeutic strategies.
• Examination of studies on statins' pleiotropic effects.
• Review of clinical trials involving statins in respiratory infections.

Main Results:

• Statins' pleiotropic properties may be beneficial in managing COVID-19 complications like endothelial dysfunction and thrombosis.
• Current guidelines recommend continuing statin therapy for cardiovascular patients with COVID-19.
• Initiating statin therapy solely for COVID-19 treatment is advised only within clinical trials.

Conclusions:

• Statins may have a role as adjuvant therapy in COVID-19 due to their multifaceted benefits.
• Continuation of statin therapy is supported for existing cardiovascular patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
• Further clinical investigation is warranted for de novo statin initiation in COVID-19 management.