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. 2020 Sep 4:11:1344.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2020.01344. eCollection 2020.

Montelukast Drug May Improve COVID-19 Prognosis: A Review of Evidence

Jean Barré  1 , Jean-Marc Sabatier  2 , Cédric Annweiler  1   3   4
Affiliations

Montelukast Drug May Improve COVID-19 Prognosis: A Review of Evidence

Jean Barré et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

With the lack of effective therapy, chemoprevention and vaccination, focusing on the immediate repurposing of existing drugs gives hope of curbing the pandemic. Interestingly, montelukast, a drug usually used in asthma, may be proposed as a potential adjuvant therapy in COVID-19. The aim of the present article was to review the properties of montelukast that could be beneficial in COVID-19. Ten experimentally supported properties were retrieved, either related to SARS-CoV-2 (antiviral properties, prevention of endotheliitis and of neurological disorders linked to SARS-CoV-2), and/or related to the host (improvement of atherogenic vascular inflammation, limitation of the ischemia/reperfusion phenomenon, improvement of respiratory symptoms), and/or related to serious COVID-19 outcomes (limitation of the cytokine storm, mitigation of acute respiratory distress syndrome), and/or related to tissue sequelae (antioxidant properties, anti-fibrosis effects). Based on gathered theoretical evidence, we argue that montelukast should be further tested to prevent and treat COVID-19 outcomes.

Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019; lukasts; montelukast; research; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; treatment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimentally supported properties of Cyst LT1 receptor antagonists potentially beneficial in COVID-19.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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