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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU 2022; 12(01): 1-6
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1730084
Review Article

Immunomodulatory Effects of Vitamin D and Vitamin C to Improve Immunity in COVID-19 Patients

Ahmed Yaqinuddin
1   Department of Anatomy and Genetics, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Ayesha Rahman Ambia
1   Department of Anatomy and Genetics, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
,
Raghad A. Alaujan
1   Department of Anatomy and Genetics, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV2) infection causes life-threatening respiratory illness, which has caused significant mortality and morbidity around the globe. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes mild respiratory illness in most infected individuals; however, in some patients it may progress to sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), cytokine release syndrome (CRS), and multiorgan dysfunction (MODS), which results in intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and increased fatalities. Recent evidence shows that most of these comorbidities associated with COVID-19 infection are associated with dysregulation of the host immune response. Vitamins C and D have been shown to regulate immune response by decreasing the proinflammatory cytokine release from immune cells and inducing proliferation of other immune cells to robustly fight infection. This review critically evaluates the current literature on vitamins C and D in modulating an immune response in different diseases and their potential therapeutic effects in preventing complications in COVID-19 infection.

Keywords

vitamin C - vitamin D - COVID-19 - immune response - chronic diseases


Publication History

Article published online:
12 May 2021

© 2021. Nitte (Deemed to be University). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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