Cytokine Storm

Topical glutathione is claimed to have shown rapid symptom reduction in cytokine storm-like inflammatory states. Ferritin greater than 500 ng/mL is a clinical threshold for considering tocilizumab in severe COVID-19. The mechanism by which topical glutathione might improve cytokine storms is explicitly unresolved. A published article is said to have addressed the formulation as an alternate therapy to reduce cytokine storm in acute infections. The article links cytokine storms to infections, mold, autoimmune conditions, emotional stress, drug-induced immune effects, and other triggers. A subset of severe COVID-19 progresses to cytokine storm, a runaway systemic inflammatory activation driven by IL-6 and other mediators. A cytokine storm is an overactivation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. TNF-alpha and IL-6 are the cytokines principally implicated in cytokine storm during COVID-19. Cytokine storms are described as excessive inflammatory signaling responses involving immune and mitochondrial signaling. CRP can reach up to 30 mg/L in severe COVID-19, compared to a normal range of 1–2 mg/L. CRP, D-dimer, ferritin, and lymphocyte count tend to move in concert in severe COVID-19, and ma…