REVIEW ON PATHOGENESIS OF VARIOUS COMORBIDITIES IN COVID-19 AND HOMOEOPATHIC IMMUNOMODULATION
Abstract
Background: COVID -19 infection has already became pandemic with a heightened mortality. The emerging data suggest that there is an increased association of COVID-19 with comorbidities. The aim of this study was to understand the association between various comorbidities and COVID-19, probable pathophysiological mechanism leading to direct and indirect damage of the system and also to find whether Homoeopathy can offer anything at the pathogenetic level for controlling the infection.
Methods: A systematic search on all the available relevant articles and research publications in the English language was made on Pub Med database and Google Scholar using the Mesh key words ‘COVID-19’, ‘comorbidities’, ‘diabetes ‘, ‘hypertension’, ‘cardiovascular disease’, ‘kidney’, ‘pathogenesis’ till June 7 2020.
Result: The probable pathophysiological mechanism of various comorbidities in COVID-19 were analysed. The expression of ACE2 in various locations can be considered as the main determinant of pathological damage in the system which results in the internalisation of organism triggering to inflammatory response such as a cytokine storm along with the rise of other inflammatory biomarkers can be a suggested mechanism in hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and acute kidney injury. The evidence obtained from the studies suggested that homoeopathic treatment has the potential for individual-specific immunomodulationand it is effective in upregulating T lymphocytes such as CD4, CD8 and CD4:CD8 ratio.
Conclusion: The increased level of cytokines (cytokine storm) as a result of release of inflammatory cells in addition to ACE2 activity can be a definite cause which can lead to the organ damage and multiorgan failure which favours the progression of disease in COVID 19. Since the immunomodulatory function of different homoeopathic drugs are already been identified and it can be utilised for the upregulation of the immunological activity in the system.
Keywords: comorbidities, ACE2, cytokine storm, immunomodulation
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