Evaluation of Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Naproxen on Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

The new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection was declared by the World Health Organization as pandemic in the early 2020. The clinical spectrum of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) include asymptomatic and symptomatic cases, including dry cough, fatigue, fever, shortness of breath, and gastrointestinal symptoms. However, increased immune inflammatory responses to stimuli can result in the overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, immunopathological complications and death in patients infected with COVID-19. Given the anti-inflammatory effects of Naproxen, this study evaluated the effect of naproxen on IL-1β, TNF-a, IL-6, IFN-γ and TGF-β in COVID-19 patients. According to the results, the serum levels of IFN-γ and TGF-β cytokines significantly decreased in the patients after the treatment with naproxen. In addition, the naproxen treatment was found effective in reducing the serum level of IL-6 and IL-1β in patients with COVID-19, though it did not significantly change the serum level of TNF-a. Overall, the findings demonstrated the effectiveness of naproxen on pro-inflammatory cytokines by regulating their serum levels in COVID-19 patients.