An important breakthrough in COVID-19 treatment approaches has been described in a recent review, demonstrating for the first time the unique ability of D-xylose.
This is a naturally occurring sugar and physiological metabolite of vitamin C — to enhance the efficacy of antibiotics, offering a novel therapeutic regimen for the disease. Notably, this new approach has the potential to drive new life-changing discoveries to significantly reduce the hospitalization and treatment duration for patients contracting COVID-19.
Titled "Correlation of D-xylose with Severity and Morbidity-Related Factors of COVID-19 and Possible Therapeutic Use of D-xylose and Antibiotics for COVID-19", the review unravels the pharmacological significance of D-xylose, highlighting its superior anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-hyperglycemic and anticancer properties. Furthermore, the review deduces that D-xylose provides a solid explanation for at least 21 symptoms, biomarkers, therapeutic pathways and risk ratios associated with severe COVID-19.
"Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started, there has been a multi-thronged pursuit to discover antiviral therapies and vaccines to fight the disease," said Antony Cheudjeu, Independent Researcher and author of the review. "Patients are commonly treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), the prolonged use of which could cause health problems. It is, therefore, essential to develop alternative therapeutic approaches that are safe to use, while also drastically reducing hospitalization time for critically-ill patients. This review highlights the importance of ensuring D-xylose levels in blood remain at a high enough concentration to strengthen the immune defence against viral infections such as COVID-19 and the associated inflammation of the lungs. When used in combination with antibiotics, D-xylose holds great promise for safe and effective COVID-19 treatment."
The therapeutic properties of D-xylose are enabled as a result of its ability to stimulate the biosynthesis of chains of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), especially heparan sulfate (HS). GAGs are present on the surface of cells and facilitate the binding of viral particles and subsequent entry into the cells. By stimulating the synthesis and secretion of HS, D-xylose helps to limit the attachment of viral particles to syndecan core proteins where HS is fixed and which also serve as attachment receptors of SARS-CoV-2 in addition to ACE2, thereby retarding the progress of viral pathogenesis. This role of D-xylose has not been recognized and brought to light before, marking a significant discovery.
Importantly, the review reveals that common risk ratios, including age, gender, smoking status, obesity and ethnicity, are not specific to COVID-19, but apply to several other pathologies, such as scurvy, lung diseases/infections and Type 2 diabetes. Considering that GAGs play an important role in many of these pathologies, D-xylose likely has therapeutic effects for these diseases as well. "In addition to COVID-19 treatment, this review, published in the esteemed peer-reviewed journal "Life Sciences", opens new avenues for developing therapies for a wide range of life-threatening diseases," added Cheudjeu. "From Type 2 diabetes, cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and acute kidney injury, to bacterial and viral infections interacting with GAGs on the surface of cells, the possibilities are limitless."
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