Convalescent plasma therapy: a promising coronavirus disease 2019 treatment strategy

Abstract

The world is passing through a very difficult phase due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has disrupted almost all spheres of life. Globally, according to the latest World Health Organization report (10 August 2020), COVID-19 has affected nearly 20 million lives, causing 728 013 deaths. Due to the lack of specific therapeutic drugs and vaccines, the outbreak of disease has spawned a corpus of contagious infection all over the world, day by day, without control. As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a very rapid infection rate, it is essential to develop a novel ameliorative and curative strategy as quickly as possible. Convalescent plasma (CP) therapy is a type of adaptive immunity that has already been found to be effective in confronting several infectious diseases from the last two decades. For example, CP therapy was used in the treatment of viral-induced diseases like SARS-CoV epidemics, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) pandemics, Ebola epidemics and H1N1 pandemic. In this review, we have mainly focused on the therapeutic role of CP therapy and its neutralizing effect to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

Combination of Angiotensin (1-7) Agonists and Convalescent Plasma as a New Strategy to Overcome Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) Inhibition for the Treatment of COVID-19

“…These risks include, among others, the transmission of harmful pathogens such as HIV, hepatitis B/C, and syphilis. Moreover, other transfusion-related events may occur following CP treatment, including allergic, anaphylactic, or hemolytic reactions, fever, and transfusion circulatory overload ( 166 ). Furthermore, transfusion can be associated with transfusion-related acute lung injury ( 167 ).…”

A Step Toward Optimizing Regenerative Medicine Principle to Combat COVID-19

“…Compared to these therapeutic modalities, CP therapy appears to be more specific for immune development and is responsible for a high recovery rate among infected patients. [15][16][17] Understanding the mechanism of action of CP therapy may layout an equivocal reflection for the development of immunotherapy and passive therapy for SARS-CoV-2 expeditiously (as shown in ►Fig. 2).…”

COVID‐19 pandemic: mechanism, diagnosis, and treatment

“…These antibodies are injected into people who currently have the infection to help their immune system. This technique can be used for prevention as well as treatment of COVID‐19 60,61 . Aside from the risks associated with transfusion, plasma therapy is considered safe 62 …”