Understanding COVID-19 in Wuhan From the Perspective of Cold-Dampness: Clinical Evidences and Mechanisms

Abstract

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played a significant role in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan City. During the epidemic, Academician Tong Xiaolin suggested a close association of COVID-19 with cold-dampness, an etiological factor in TCM, by summarizing the characteristics of the COVID-19 patients in Wuhan. and the theory of Cold-dampness Plague was proposed. Based on the Cold-dampness Plague theory, a series of TCM drugs, such as Huoxiang Zhengqi Dropping Pills, Lianhua Qingwen Granules Hanshiyi Formula, and Tongzhi Granule were developed for the different stages, namely mild, moderate, severe, recovery, of the COVID-19. In addition, clinical evidences were obtained through randomized clinical trials or retrospective cohort studies. The Anti-SARS-CoV-2 mechanism of the TCM prescriptions were then summarized from the four aspects: targeting the ACE2 and 3CLPro, targeting cytokines, targeting acute immune responses to SARS-CoV-2, and targeting pulmonary fibrosis. Despite the clinical efficacy and therapeutic pharmacology speculation, more studies such as large-scale randomized clinical trials, cell and animal experiments are needed to further verify the theory of the Cold-dampness Plague in COVID-19 patients.

Prevention of Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppression in Mice With Traditional Chinese Medicine Xuanfei Baidu Decoction

“…Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a history of more than 2,000 years in prevention and treatment of epidemics and plagues ( Ren et al, 2020 ). By the systemic diagnosis from TCM experts, it has been generally believed that COVID-19 is a pestilence in view of its epidemic and infectious nature, characterized with the external evils such as toxin evil, wet evil, and cold evil ( Zheng et al, 2021 ), and therefore, COVID-19 is classified as “wet toxin pestilence.”…”

The three syndromes and six Chinese patent medicine study during the recovery phase of COVID-19

“…At present, there are a large number of COVID-19 patients, more than 93 million confirmed infections. No matter in the COVID-19 infection stage or recovery stage, many high-quality studies had shown that the effect of traditional Chinese medicine is significant, and now there is a complete evidence chain [ 153 , 154 ] about the prevention, treatment and recovery period of traditional Chinese medicine for COVID-19 [ 153 , 154 ], that is, the role of traditional Chinese medicine is self-evident, and there are a large number of patients in recovery period in many regions, so more patients need to participate in the use of traditional Chinese medicine.…”

WITHDRAWN: The Role of the Vascular Niche in Organ Fibrosis and COVID-19-Related Organ Damage and the Countermeasures adopted by Chinese and Western Medicine

“…"Three formulas and three medicines" is a representative regimen of TCM for the treatment of COVID-19, including QingfeiPaidu Decoction (QFPD), Huashi Baidu Decoction (HSBD), Xuanfei Baidu Decoction (XFBD), Jinhua Qinggan Granules (JHQG), LHQW, and Xue Bi Jing Injection (XBJ). Many meta-analyses and clinical studies have shown that they can reduce SARS-CoV-2 virus infection by binding to ACE2, not only reducing virus-induced endothelial dysfunction, but also regulating the inflammatory immune response of immune cells, such as macrophages, and reducing systemic multiple organ injury caused by COVID-19 safely and effectively [129] , [130] , [131] , [132] , [133] , [134] . Many studies have found that these six drugs can significantly and effectively shorten the course of disease and rapidly relieve clinical symptoms in patients with mild to moderate disease, and Li et al also found that quadruple therapy with Lianhua Qingwen Capsules, ribavirin, lopinavir, and amifepristone combination can maximize the inhibition of viral infection and replication and can be used as the treatment of choice for patients with severe COVID-19 [ 135 , 136 ].…”