COVID-19 as part of the hyperferritinemic syndromes: the role of iron depletion therapy

The role of iron and ferritin in pathophysiology and as a laboratory marker in COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) emerged in China exponentially and is recognized as a multisystem disease that gradually elevates markers associated with iron metabolism as the infection becomes more intense, becoming a critical factor in the investigation of prognosis. We review the latest scientific findings on the behavior of iron and ferritin in pathophysiology and as laboratory markers in COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019).The findings showed that iron and ferritin play a key role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, contributing to the worsening of the disease. Therefore, iron dysmetabolism, marked by hyperferritinemia, is associated with inflammatory states in SARS-CoV-2 infection, and ferritin measurement has been shown to be a useful laboratory marker with a clinical and discriminatory potential to define the severity and mortality during COVID-19.

Airborne magnetic nanoparticles may contribute to COVID-19 outbreak: Relationships in Greece and Iran

This work attempts to shed light on whether the COVID-19 pandemic rides on airborne pollution. In particular, a two-city study provides evidence that PM_2.5 contributes to the timing and severity of the epidemic, without adjustment for confounders. The publicly available data of deaths between March and October 2020, updated it on May 30, 2021, and the average seasonal concentrations of PM_2.5 pollution over the previous years in Thessaloniki, the second-largest city of Greece, were investigated. It was found that changes in coronavirus-related deaths follow changes in air pollution and that the correlation between the two data sets is maximized at the lag time of one month. Similar data from Tehran were gathered for comparison. The results of this study underscore that it is possible, if not likely, that pollution nanoparticles are related to COVID-19 fatalities (Granger causality, p < 0.05), contributing to the understanding of the environmental impact on pandemics.