Introduction
A newly identified coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in China in December 2019 resulted in a significant number of pneumonia resulting in deaths. The spread, as usual of these viruses, is rapidly spreading all over the world with thousands of thousands of deaths. It is no coincidence that the WHO has declared a state of pandemic. For these reasons, worldwide attention is concentrated in the fight against this virus.
The genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 is 79.5% of the identity with SARS-CoV. The evidence that caused Cov2 sars infection causes a generalized hyper inflammatory state due to the release of cytokines (”cytokine storm”).
In literature it has been shown that the final stage of infection is the deadly one for humans. In fact, it is not the viral phase that kills but the strong activation of the immune system and the consequent release of cytokines. The patient is thus supported and hospitalized in an intensive care unit (ICU) hoping that he will overcome the ”famous storm” and remain alive.
World scientific societies, health professionals, doctors, researchers and scholars are intensifying research to find a suitable cure to fight the virus, both to prevent infection and to treat the patient before he arrives at death. The vaccine will only be available in several months and at present many drugs are being examined without great success. The latest works give hope about colchicine and hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine also used in combination in order to avoid the release of cytokines with excellent chances of success.
The spontaneous reflection is the possibility of resorting to clinical nutrition and amino acid supplementation both to prevent, support and overcome the infectious phase with greater ease also in combination with pharmacological treatments.
This idea is reinforced by the fact that clinical nutrition and amino acids, in addition to adequately nourishing the patient bedridden in ICU, can modulate the immune system to prevent infection and ensure that the inflammatory state is kept under control with less release of cytokines. Above all, amino acids seem fundamental as an additional contribution in the patient suffering from covid and hospitalized in ICU: on the one hand it mitigates the release of cytokines and on the other it favors a prompt de-hospitalization in the healing phase for a prompt turn-over in the pandemic phase and with consequent savings of indirect and intangible costs (1-2).