Journal of Inflammation Research (Sep 2021)
Implications for Systemic Approaches to COVID-19: Effect Sizes of Remdesivir, Tocilizumab, Melatonin, Vitamin D3, and Meditation
Abstract
Ryan D Castle,1 Michelle A Williams,2 William C Bushell,3 J Adam Rindfleisch,4 Christine Tara Peterson,5 James Marzolf,6 Kimberly Brouwer,7 Paul J Mills8 1Science Division, Whole Health Institute, Bentonville, AR, USA; 2Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; 3Science Division, Whole Health Institute, New York, NY, USA; 4Education Department, Whole Health School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bentonville, AR, USA; 5Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA; 6Health Sector Finance & Policy, Whole Health Institute, Bentonville, AR, USA; 7Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA; 8Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Integrative Health, University of California, San Diego, CA, USACorrespondence: Ryan D CastleScience Division, Whole Health Institute, 900 McClain Road, Bentonville, AR, 72712, USAEmail [email protected]: COVID-19 poses a chronic threat to inflammatory systems, reinforcing the need for efficient anti-inflammatory strategies. The purpose of this review and analysis was to determine the efficacy of various interventions upon the inflammatory markers most affected by COVID-19. The focus was on the markers associated with COVID-19, not the etiology of the virus itself.Methods: Based on 27 reviewed papers, information was extracted on the effects of COVID-19 upon inflammatory markers, then the effects of standard treatments (Remdesivir, Tocilizumab) and adjunctive interventions (vitamin D3, melatonin, and meditation) were extracted for those markers. These data were used to approximate effect sizes for the disease or interventions via standardized mean differences (SMD).Results: The data that were available indicated that adjunctive interventions affected 68.4% of the inflammatory markers impacted by COVID-19, while standard pharmaceutical medication affected 26.3%.Discussion: Nonstandard adjunctive care appeared to have comparable or superior effects in comparison to Remdesivir and Tocilizumab on the inflammatory markers most impacted by COVID-19. Alongside standards of care, melatonin, vitamin D3, and meditation should be considered for treatment of SARS-COV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease.Keywords: COVID-19, inflammation, cytokine storm, effect size, antivirals, corticosteroids, melatonin, vitamin D, meditation, whole health
