Potassium Levels in COVID Subjects: Current Observations and New Possibilities for its use in COVID Diagnosis

Abstract

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing covid infection in humans is a major global threat to healthcare and economy. According to the recent statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease has already involved all continents, with almost 117,498,522 cases with more than 2,606,626 deaths all over the globe until March 2021. It is thus, imperative to study and develop pharmacological treatments suitable for the prevention and treatment ofCOVID-19. The COVID causing virus is mainly transmitted through cough or sneeze droplets generated by an infected person. Hence its early and accurate diagnosis appears essential for minimizing spread, prevention and eventually containment of the pandemic. Also, since the clinical presentation of the COVID infection is varied starting from asymptomatic to severe cases, it reinforces the need for detection methods that are simple, early and with good sensitivity and specificity. This article reviews impact of potassium ions in functioning of various organs in humans and its possible role in COVID disease progression.

A novel property of hexokinase inhibition by Favipiravir and proposed advantages over Molnupiravir and 2 Deoxy d glucose in treating COVID-19

“…Drug developers are making efforts to consider drug repurposing as one of the more appealing choices for addressing the sudden and abrupt advent of SARS-CoV-2 that includes allopathic drugs such as Remdesivir, Dexamethasone, and Tocilizumab (Venkateshan 2021 ), Emodin, Omipalisib, and Tipifarnib (Jang et al 2021 ; Ng et al 2021 ) and selected herbal drugs (Palghadmal et al 2021 ; Padmanabhan 2021 ; Khan and Al-Balushi 2021 ). Other tested medications, such as Chloroquinine, Hydroxychloroquine, and the Lopinavir-Ritonavir combination, have been withdrawn (Paul and Biswas 2021 ) due to inconsistent treatment reports.…”