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Review
. 2023 Jul 5:14:1197467.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1197467. eCollection 2023.

Potential value of neuroimmunotherapy for COVID-19: efficacies and mechanisms of vagus nerve stimulation, electroacupuncture, and cholinergic drugs

Xianqiang Yu  1   2 , Qingming Kong  3
Affiliations
Review

Potential value of neuroimmunotherapy for COVID-19: efficacies and mechanisms of vagus nerve stimulation, electroacupuncture, and cholinergic drugs

Xianqiang Yu et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

COVID-19 is an inflammatory disease with multiple organs involved, mainly respiratory symptoms. Although the majority of patients with COVID-19 present with a mild to moderate self-limited course of illness, about 5-10% of patients with inflammatory disorders in severe COVID-19 have life-threatening progression. With the exception of a few drugs that have shown outstanding anti-COVID-19 effects, the efficacy of most drugs remains controversial. An increasing number of animal and clinical studies have shown that neuromodulation has a significant effect on reducing inflammatory markers of COVID-19, thus exerting an effective neuroimmunotherapeutic value. Currently, the main neuroimmunomodulatory measures effective against COVID-19 include vagus nerve stimulation, electroacupuncture, and cholinergic drugs. In this review, we will summarize the research progress of potential value of this neuroimmunotherapy measures for COVID-19 and elaborate its efficacies and mechanisms, in order to provide reliable evidence for clinical intervention.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; cholinergic drugs; electroacupuncture; neuroimmunotherapy; vagus nerve.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The structure of SARS-COV-2 and potential targets for intervention.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic diagram of sites for regulating gastrointestinal function by electroacupuncture.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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