The Role of Nutrition During the COVID-19 Pandemic: What We Know.

BACKGROUND: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) (COVID-19) infection provokes serious clinical consequences, which in many situations need hospitalization of the patient in Intensive Care Unit. Additionally, SARS-COV-2 infection can indirectly cause deaths in aged individuals as well as in patients with co-morbidities. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic in both hospitalized patients and the general population. METHODS: Authors searched Medline (PubMed), Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Google, and Institutional websites for medical subheadings terms and free full text referred to "SARS-CoV-2", COVID-19", "nutrition", "immune system", before 31st July 2020. RESULTS: A total of 20 articles describing different nutritional interventions for patients with SARS-- CoV-2 infection focusing on the general population have been included. Of these, 6 studies are dealing with nutritional interventions for patients with SARS-CoV2 infection. The others are focalized on a potential beneficial effect exerted by a Mediterranean diet (MD), related to the supplementation of micronutrients and vitamins. CONCLUSION: A correct lifestyle, including the consumption of nutrients largely present in MD, may be beneficial for preventing or improving prognosis in the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Exploitation of Some Natural Products for the Prevention and/or Nutritional Treatment of SARS-CoV2 Infection.

Dietary habits strongly influence our health status, mostly in terms of maintenance of the inflammatory/anti-inflammatory homeostasis. High fat and high sugar diets account for the development of a low-grade inflammation, which is the pathogenic common denominator of various chronic diseases. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS)-CoV2 (COVID-19) infection affects all ages and especially frail elderly people and a nutritional intervention seems to be crucial in the course of this pandemic. The present review describes the properties of some vegetal products and their derivatives, such as Lupin sp., garlic, salvia and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) that can be exploited for their beneficial effects, as preventive and/or nutritional treatment of coronavirus disease SARS-CoV2. Lupin, salvia, garlic and EVOO share overlapping properties, such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral activities. Quite importantly, these products and their derivatives are able to recover the expression of angiotensin converting enzyme expression 2 on cell membrane, otherwise suppressed by COVID-19 binding and entry into cytoplasm. Dietary administration of the above nutraceuticals or their extracts may play a preventive or nutritional role in the course of SARS-CoV2 infection, even including the effects of the lockdown and the condition of inflamm-ageing.

Worse progression of COVID-19 in men: Is testosterone a key factor?

BACKGROUND: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease 2019 (COVID-19) seems to have a worse clinical course among infected men compared with women, thus highlighting concerns about gender predisposition to serious prognosis. Therefore, androgens, particularly testosterone (T), could be suspected as playing a critical role in driving this excess of risk. However, gonadal function in critically ill men is actually unknown, mainly because serum T concentration is not routinely measured in clinical practice, even more in this clinical context. OBJECTIVE: To overview on possible mechanisms by which serum T levels could affect the progression of COVID-19 in men. METHODS: Authors searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Google, and institutional websites for medical subject headings terms and free text words referred to "SARS-CoV-2," "COVID-19," "testosterone," "male hypogonadism," "gender" "immune system," "obesity," "thrombosis" until May 19th 2020. RESULTS: T, co-regulating the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and transmembrane protease serine 2 in host cells, may facilitate SARS-CoV-2 internalization. Instead, low serum T levels may predispose to endothelial dysfunction, thrombosis and defective immune response, leading to both impaired viral clearance and systemic inflammation. Obesity, one of the leading causes of severe prognosis in infected patients, is strictly associated with functional hypogonadism, and may consistently strengthen the aforementioned alterations, ultimately predisposing to serious respiratory and systemic consequences. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: T in comparison to estrogen may predispose men to a widespread COVID-19 infection. Low serum levels of T, which should be supposed to characterize the hormonal milieu in seriously ill individuals, may predispose men, especially elderly men, to poor prognosis or death. Further studies are needed to confirm these pathophysiological assumptions and to promptly identify adequate therapeutic strategies.