Repurposing Donepezil to Treat COVID-19: A Call for Retrospective Analysis of Existing Patient Datasets
Journal Title: Journal of Clinical Immunology & Microbiology - Year 2021, Vol 2, Issue 3
Abstract
We hypothesize that patients treated with donepezil will show decreased risk of death following COVID-19 infection. The acetylcholinesterase antagonist donepezil is widely prescribed for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Clinical studies show donepezil treatment decreases risk of death from pneumonia and myocardial infarct, improves vascular function and inhibits risk of stroke. Preclinical studies indicate donepezil itself or increased acetylcholine more generally protect from fatal Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), sepsis, cytokine storm, cardiovascular damage, Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) and acute kidney damage. Donepezil is also an agonist of the anti-viral sigma-1 receptor. In the United States, there have been over 600,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection and over 170,000 deaths associated with nursing home outbreaks. Rather than run a new clinical trial, our hypothesis can be tested through retrospective analysis of data obtained from nursing home or hospital databases collected at the county, state, or federal level. We believe retrospective analysis of this data will show donepezil treatment shortens hospital stay decreases overall risk of hospitalization and death. The data could be rapidly translated into clinical practice to prevent COVID-19 fatalities in the most vulnerable patient populations.
Authors and Affiliations
Meena M Murali, Joy A Phillips*
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP699109
- DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.46889/JCIM.2021.2305
- Views 106
- Downloads 0
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