Could an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19 infected patients be calmed down simply by iron withdrawal from lung tissues?

Tatiana, Sukhomlin

Hadadi et al [1] recently published a case report about successful treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-infected anemic patient by administration of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO). The miraculous improvement of symptoms, hemoglobin content and lymphopenia has been reported. It is highly likely that this excellent effect of rhEPO revealed a crucial hub of the ARDS pathology, namely, a disrupted local iron homeostasis (FeH) in inflamed lungs. Since in inflammation the deregulated FeH may be followed by abnormal fibrosis induced by free iron ions [2], therefore, the finding of Hadadi et al [1] opens a new avenue for ARDS study and, hopefully, treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.