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Nitric Oxide: The Missing Factor in COVID-19 Severity?

Alexandros Nikolaidis1, Ron Kramer2, Sergej Ostojic3

  • 1NKG Pharmaceuticals, Signal Hill, CA 90755, USA.

Medical Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|January 25, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Researchers propose that nitric oxide depletion may cause severe COVID-19 symptoms and comorbidities. A nutritional intervention using nitrate, a nitric oxide precursor, is being investigated to address this link.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular research
  • Infectious diseases
  • Nutritional science

Background:

  • Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presents with diverse symptoms and varying severity, often exacerbated by comorbidities.
  • The precise mechanisms linking COVID-19 severity, comorbidities, and atypical respiratory symptoms remain unclear.
  • Nitric oxide (NO) plays a crucial role in vascular and respiratory health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the hypothesis that nitric oxide depletion is associated with negative clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
  • To explore the potential role of nitric oxide in COVID-19 related comorbidities and symptoms.
  • To evaluate a nutritional intervention based on nitrate, a nitric oxide precursor.

Main Methods:

  • The study focuses on a hypothesis-driven approach linking nitric oxide levels to COVID-19 outcomes.
  • A nutritional formulation intervention utilizing nitrate, a precursor to nitric oxide, was developed.
  • The research aims to correlate nitric oxide depletion with observed patient symptoms and comorbidities.

Main Results:

  • The study hypothesizes a direct link between nitric oxide depletion and both COVID-19 symptoms and comorbidities.
  • Negative clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients are suggested to be associated with low nitric oxide levels.
  • The developed nutritional formulation targets nitric oxide restoration.

Conclusions:

  • Nitric oxide depletion is proposed as a unifying factor for COVID-19 severity and associated comorbidities.
  • Restoring nitric oxide levels through nutritional intervention may mitigate negative clinical outcomes.
  • Further research is warranted to validate the role of nitric oxide in COVID-19 pathogenesis and treatment.

Keywords:
COVID-19NOSARS-CoV-2comorbiditiesetiologynitric oxide

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