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Review
. 2020 Jun;34(3 Suppl):1567-1588.
doi: 10.21873/invivo.11946.

COVID-19: The Potential Role of Copper and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in a Combination of Candidate Antiviral Treatments Against SARS-CoV-2

Andri Andreou  1 , Sofia Trantza  2 , Demetrios Filippou  3   4 , Nikolaos Sipsas  4 , Sotirios Tsiodras  4
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19: The Potential Role of Copper and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in a Combination of Candidate Antiviral Treatments Against SARS-CoV-2

Andri Andreou et al. In Vivo. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Background: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic. Since then, thousands of people have suffered and died, making the need for a treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) more crucial than ever.

Materials and methods: The authors carried out a search in PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov and New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) for COVID-19 to provide information on the most promising treatments against SARS-CoV-2.

Results: Possible COVID-19 agents with promising efficacy and favorable safety profile were identified. The results support the combination of copper, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), colchicine and nitric oxide (NO) with candidate antiviral agents, remdesivir or EIDD-2801, as a treatment for patients positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Conclusion: The authors propose to study the effects of the combination of copper, NAC, colchicine, NO and currently used experimental antiviral agents, remdesivir or EIDD-2801, as a potential treatment scheme for SARS-COV-2.

Keywords: COVID-19; EIDD-2801; N-acetylcysteine (NAC); copper; remdesivir (RDV); review; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The Authors have no conflicts of interest regarding this review paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Research method: Phase I and Phase II.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Overview of stages of COVID-19 progression and potential inhibition/blockage by candidate treatment agents.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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