Antioxidants/Antihyxants-the missing puzzle of effective pathogenetic therapy of patients with Covid-19

Author:
T.A. Voronin

Research Institute of Pharmacology. V.V. Zakusova, Moscow, Russian Federation

Place of publication:
INFECTIOUS DISEASES, 2020, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 97–102

Abstract:
This article presents a review of data showing that COVID-19, along with impaired respiratory function (bronchoalveolar epithelium does not retain oxygen, etc.), is accompanied by decreased hemoglobin levels and its ability to transport oxygen to organs and tissues, and increased heme levels. Anoxemia, oxygen starvation of organs and tissues throughout the body, and oxidative stress develop. Mexidol, a drug developed in Russia, is widely used in medical practice, including for diseases associated with ischemia and hypoxia. Mexidol has antihypoxic and antioxidant effects and the ability to restore mitochondrial respiratory dysfunction, thus influencing key, fundamental processes in the cellular structures of organs and tissues that occur during various hypoxic conditions. Mexidol may be useful in the combination therapy of patients with COVID-19. Key words: COVID-19, antioxidant, antihypoxant, hemoglobin, hypoxia, oxygen starvation, mexidol, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress.