Existing medications for diabetes, obesity and aging may also be applied to the treatment of COVID-19. Likely, these biomolecules already exist in nature and can be combined in new ways. The journal Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry recently released a review on the subject. Ideal treatment candidate for COVID-19 should be able to address diabetes, aging, and the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Existing medications like metformin and Rapamycin and natural substances like curcumin and resveratrol have the potential to be thoroughly investigated.
Key Highlight:
- Existing medications for diabetes, obesity and aging may also be applied to the treatment of COVID-19.
- Likely, these biomolecules already exist in nature and can be combined in new ways.
- Existing medications like metformin and Rapamycin and natural substances like curcumin and resveratrol have the potential to be thoroughly investigated.
- Polyphenols, including catechins (found in green tea, chocolate, and berries), procyanidins ( found in apples, cinnamon, and grape skin), and theaflavin, have also been discovered by the researchers as beneficial.
According to IISER Bhopal’s Principal Scientist and Chief Executive Officer Dr Amjad Husain, current medications used to treat diabetes, obesity, and aging could be utilized to treat COVID-19, according to experts from The University of Arizona in the United States. Additionally, comparable naturally occurring biomolecules could be combined with COVID to see if they have any benefit. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry has published a review by Drs. Udeep Chawla, Manoj Kumar Kashyap, and Amjad Husain, which offers insight into future directions in COVID-19 therapies.
“With the nearly two-year-long COVID-19 pandemic continuing to plague the world, we are beginning to comprehend the virus and its working progressively,” stated Dr. Amjad Husain, Chief Executive Officer of IISER Bhopal’s Innovation and Incubation Center for Entrepreneurship (IICE). As researchers have discovered, people who are elderly or diabetic are particularly vulnerable to the viral infection’s effects. Studies are being undertaken in several countries worldwide to see how the COVID-19 virus affects people’s health in the short and long term.
According to the published review, diabetes, aging, and COVID-19 have molecular pathways common to all three diseases. Every one of these issues is linked to oxidative stress, which lowers the immune system’s response. The consequences that result lead to the advent of various other diseases like heart disease, eye disease, neuropathy, and nephropathy (nerve disease) (kidney problems).
An optimal therapy option for COVID-19, according to the researchers, should be able to target the pathways that are shared by diabetes, aging, and the SARS-CoV-2 infection. , curcumin (found in turmeric) and resveratrol (found in grapes) are examples of polyphenols, which have been demonstrated to slow down the aging process while also having anti-viral capabilities. Polyphenols, including catechins (found in green tea, chocolate, and berries), procyanidins (found in apples, cinnamon, and grape skin), and theaflavin, have also been discovered by the researchers as beneficial for treating COVID-19 as well as comorbid illnesses like diabetes and aging (found in black tea).
These metabolic pathways are common to both COVID-19 and several existing prospective anti-aging medications like Rapamycin, which the researchers say can be examined for COVID-19 treatment. Metformin, a medicine commonly used to manage blood sugar, is another excellent example.
Using computer simulations, the researchers discovered that lipids in cell membranes are critical to coronavirus infectivity. By interfering with the virus’ ability to connect to the host receptors and the chemical interactions essential for virus reproduction and release, natural substances like polyphenols can stop an infection in its tracks early on.
Research on novel drugs and their clearance takes longer because there is an urgent need to identify viable therapies from the existing pool of possible chemicals, said the principal researcher. To treat COVID-19 and post-coronavirus syndrome, scientists feel that natural substances such as curcumin and resveratrol and current medicines like metformin and Rapamycin have great potential.
