Due to the devastating worldwide impact of COVID-19, the illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, there have been unprecedented efforts by clinicians and researchers from around the world to quickly develop safe and effective treatments and vaccines. Given that COVID-19 is a complex new disease with no existing vaccine or specific treatment, much effort is being made to investigate the repurposing of approved and available drugs, as well as those under development. In an article published online on May 29, 2020 in Frontiers in Immunology (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01131/full) , a team of researchers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review all of the COVID-19 clinical and research findings to date. They provide a breakdown of key immunological factors underlying the clinical stages of COVID-19 illness that could potentially be targeted by existing therapeutic drugs. The open-access review is titled “Lessons Learned to Date on COVID-19 Hyperinflammatory Syndrome: Considerations for Interventions to Mitigate SARS-CoV-2 Viral Infection and Detrimental Hyperinflammation.” Montserrat Puig (photo) (https://www.fda.gov/science-research/fda-science-jobs-and-scientific-professional-development/montserrat-puig-phd-biologist-research-reviewer), PhD, of the FDA, senior author of the review, stated that "there are multiple factors involved in determining if the patient's immune response will be insufficient or successful in combating the infection. Our review is an overview of these factors and how they can be considered to define the context in which medications currently used for other diseases, or development of novel agents, can be utilized to prevent, ameliorate, or cure COVID-19." We know that during the early stage of COVID-19 people can show no symptoms or mild symptoms, and, for many, the disease resolves.Login Or Register To Read Full Story