id	author	title	date	pages	extension	mime	words	sentences	flesch	summary	cache	txt
cord-271785-vmnc8yg6	Minetti, Giampaolo	Mevalonate pathway, selenoproteins, redox balance, immune system, Covid-19: Reasoning about connections	2020-07-21		.txt	text/plain	2551	137	38	As competitive inhibitors of HMG-CoA-reductase, the key enzyme of the "mevalonate pathway" through which essential compounds, not only cholesterol, are synthesized, statins decrease the levels of cholesterol, and thus LDLs, as an innate defense mechanism, with controversial results in decreasing mortality from cardiovascular disease. In the attempt to decipher the enigma of SARS-CoV-2 infectivology, the hypothesis should be tested whether the population of subjects who succumbed to Covid-19 may have developed a compromised immunity at sub-clinical levels and have become more susceptible to fatal consequences from SARS-Cov-2 infection due to statin therapy. Statins are cholesterol-lowering drugs that act as competitive inhibitors of the enzyme -Hydroxy--Methyl-Glutaryl-Coenzyme-A (HMG-CoA)-reductase, the key enzyme of the "mevalonate pathway". 27 Thus, subjects with already low LDL levels and possibly weakened leukocyte function because of statin treatment would be even more susceptible to infection and its fatal consequences.	./cache/cord-271785-vmnc8yg6.txt	./txt/cord-271785-vmnc8yg6.txt