Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist in the Treatment of COVID-19 Induced Cytokine Storm

From late 2019 which Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first diagnosed to now, about 31 million people have been diagnosed by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and more than ninety-thousands people have been died, globally. Many antiviral medications have been evaluated for their effect on the virus life-cycle and some have been approved to be used in emergencies (1). To date, no effective agent has shown a definite effect in the pharmacotherapy of COVID-19. Although the optimal goal in this battle is to manufacture the vaccine, different aspects of the disease are now under investigation. Critical conditions due to ARDS and hyperinflammatory state play an important role in COVID-19 pathogenesis and it was shown in previous studies that mortality is increased in these patients (2). Hyperinflammation state in COVID-19, which leads to tissue damage and organ dysfunction, is caused by releasing a huge number of inflammatory mediators and is known as cytokine storm (3). The inhibitors of the immunemediated pathways are being strongly investigated due to their potential effect in the treatment of cytokine storm in severe COVID-19.