AUTHOR=Spuch Carlos , López-García Marta , Rivera-Baltanás Tania , Rodrígues-Amorím Daniela , Olivares José M. 

TITLE=Does Lithium Deserve a Place in the Treatment Against COVID-19? A Preliminary Observational Study in Six Patients, Case Report

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2020.557629

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2020.557629

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p>Lithium has shown the capacity to: a) inhibit the replication of several types of viruses, some of which are similar to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, b) increase the immune response by reducing lymphopenia, and c) reduce inflammation by preventing or reducing the cytokine storm. In the present study, we have treated six patients with severe COVID-19 infection with lithium carbonate. We found that lithium carbonate significantly reduced plasma reactive C-Protein levels, increased lymphocyte numbers and decreased the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, improving both inflammatory activity and the immune response in these patients. We propose that lithium carbonate may deserve a place in the treatment against COVID-19.</p>