Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‑19) and Its Neuroinvasive Capacity: Is It Time for Melatonin?

Abstract

The world faces an exceptional new public health concern caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2), subsequently termed the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization (WHO). Although the clinical symptoms mostly have been characterized, the scientifc community still doesn´t know how SARS-CoV-2 successfully reaches and spreads throughout the central nervous system (CNS) inducing brain damage. The recent detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the cerebrospinal fuid (CSF) and in frontal lobe sections from postmortem examination has confrmed the presence of the virus in neural tissue. This fnding reveals a new direction in the search for a neurotherapeutic strategy in the COVID-19 patients with underlying diseases. Here, we discuss the COVID-19 outbreak in a neuroinvasiveness context and suggest the therapeutic use of high doses of melatonin, which may favorably modulate the immune response and neuroinfammation caused by SARS-CoV-2. However, clinical trials elucidating the efcacy of melatonin in the prevention and clinical management in the COVID-19 patients should be actively encouraged.