After 62 years of regulating immunity, dexamethasone meets COVID-19

Nat Rev Immunol. 2020 Oct;20(10):587-588. doi: 10.1038/s41577-020-00421-x.

Abstract

Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, effective treatments have been frustratingly sparse. The RECOVERY clinical trial, however, revealed that treatment with dexamethasone, a classic synthetic glucocorticoid, enhanced survival of critically ill patients with COVID-19. In this Comment, we discuss the immunological impacts of glucocorticoid therapy for COVID-19.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Alarmins / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Alarmins / genetics
  • Alarmins / immunology
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Betacoronavirus / immunology
  • Betacoronavirus / pathogenicity*
  • COVID-19
  • Coronavirus Infections / drug therapy*
  • Coronavirus Infections / immunology
  • Coronavirus Infections / pathology
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology
  • Cytokine Release Syndrome / immunology
  • Cytokine Release Syndrome / pathology
  • Cytokine Release Syndrome / prevention & control*
  • Cytokine Release Syndrome / virology
  • Dexamethasone / therapeutic use*
  • Drug Administration Schedule
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Innate / drug effects
  • Immunosuppressive Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / drug therapy*
  • Pneumonia, Viral / immunology
  • Pneumonia, Viral / pathology
  • Pneumonia, Viral / virology
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Receptors, Glucocorticoid / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Receptors, Glucocorticoid / genetics
  • Receptors, Glucocorticoid / immunology
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Alarmins
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Immunosuppressive Agents
  • Receptors, Glucocorticoid
  • Dexamethasone