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Implications for Systemic Approaches to COVID-19: Effect Sizes of Remdesivir, Tocilizumab, Melatonin, Vitamin D3, and
Ryan D Castle1, Michelle A Williams2, William C Bushell3
1Science Division, Whole Health Institute, Bentonville, AR, USA.
Insights
Adjunctive therapies like vitamin D3, melatonin, and meditation show comparable or better effects on COVID-19 related inflammatory markers than standard treatments. These interventions should be considered alongside standard care for COVID-19 treatment.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Virology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- COVID-19 significantly impacts inflammatory systems, necessitating effective anti-inflammatory treatments.
- Understanding COVID-19's effect on inflammatory markers is crucial for developing targeted therapies.
- This review focuses on inflammatory markers affected by COVID-19, not the virus's origin.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of various interventions on key inflammatory markers impacted by COVID-19.
- To compare the effects of standard treatments versus adjunctive therapies on COVID-19 related inflammation.
- To identify potential complementary treatments for SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review of 27 papers was conducted to extract data on COVID-19's inflammatory effects.
- Data on standard treatments (Remdesivir, Tocilizumab) and adjunctive interventions (Vitamin D3, melatonin, meditation) were analyzed.
- Effect sizes were approximated using standardized mean differences (SMD) for disease and intervention impacts.
Main Results:
- Adjunctive interventions demonstrated an impact on 68.4% of the inflammatory markers affected by COVID-19.
- Standard pharmaceutical treatments influenced 26.3% of the evaluated inflammatory markers.
- A significant difference in the proportion of affected inflammatory markers was observed between adjunctive and standard treatments.
Conclusions:
- Non-standard adjunctive care, including melatonin, vitamin D3, and meditation, showed comparable or superior effects on COVID-19 related inflammatory markers compared to Remdesivir and Tocilizumab.
- These adjunctive therapies offer a promising avenue for managing inflammation associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- Melatonin, vitamin D3, and meditation should be considered as part of the standard care alongside pharmaceutical treatments for COVID-19.
Introduction:
COVID-19 poses a chronic threat to inflammatory systems, reinforcing the need for efficient anti-inflammatory strategies. The purpose of this review and analysis was to determine the efficacy of various interventions upon the inflammatory markers most affected by COVID-19. The focus was on the markers associated with COVID-19, not the etiology of the virus itself.
Methods:
Based on 27 reviewed papers, information was extracted on the effects of COVID-19 upon inflammatory markers, then the effects of standard treatments (Remdesivir, Tocilizumab) and adjunctive interventions (vitamin D3, melatonin, and meditation) were extracted for those markers. These data were used to approximate effect sizes for the disease or interventions via standardized mean differences (SMD).
Results:
The data that were available indicated that adjunctive interventions affected 68.4% of the inflammatory markers impacted by COVID-19, while standard pharmaceutical medication affected 26.3%.
Discussion:
Nonstandard adjunctive care appeared to have comparable or superior effects in comparison to Remdesivir and Tocilizumab on the inflammatory markers most impacted by COVID-19. Alongside standards of care, melatonin, vitamin D3, and meditation should be considered for treatment of SARS-COV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease.
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