COVID-19 infection and rheumatoid arthritis: mutual outburst cytokines and remedies

In March 2020, COVID-19 infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been declared to be a global pandemic, where its complications, severity and mortality are reported to be due to the released inflammatory cytokines or the so-called cytokine storm. This is quite similar to that observed in the autoimmune an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current medical research and opinion 2021-06, Vol.37 (6), p.929-938
Main Authors: Elemam, Noha Mousaad, Maghazachi, Azzam A., Hannawi, Suad
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anti-rheumatic
Antirheumatic Agents - therapeutic use
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - complications
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - drug therapy
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - immunology
COVID-19
COVID-19 - complications
COVID-19 - immunology
COVID-19 Drug Treatment
Cytokine Release Syndrome - etiology
Cytokine Release Syndrome - immunology
cytokines
Cytokines - blood
DMARDs
Humans
Review
Rheumatoid arthritis
Risk Factors
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Summary:In March 2020, COVID-19 infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been declared to be a global pandemic, where its complications, severity and mortality are reported to be due to the released inflammatory cytokines or the so-called cytokine storm. This is quite similar to that observed in the autoimmune and chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It was hypothesized that RA patients are at a higher risk of acquiring COVID-19; however, recent studies reported that they are not when compared to the rest of the population. In this review, we aim to highlight the mutual pathological features, cytokine profiles and risk factors between COVID-19 and RA. Also, many researchers are currently working to explore therapeutic agents that could aid in the eradication of COVID-19 infection. Due to the similarity between the inflammation status in COVID-19 and RA, many anti-rheumatic drugs such as hydroxychloroquine, tocilizumab, baricitinib and anakinra were proposed to be therapeutic modalities for COVID-19 infection.
ISSN:0300-7995
1473-4877
1473-4877
DOI:10.1080/03007995.2021.1906637