Covid-19, Carnosine and Cognition

Abstract

The possible ameliorative roles of the dipeptide carnosine with respect to Covid-19 viral infection and associated pathologies are discussed. In particular carnosine’s ability to suppress age-related changes in carbohydrate metabolism which normally exacerbate Covid-19-induced dysfunction as well as the dipeptide’s anti-inflammatory activity is considered. As carnosine is normally present in the olfactory lobe and that anosmia (loss of sense of smell) is a common feature of Covid-19’s effect on humans, the possibility that nasal administration of carnosine could be therapeutic is considered as a means of raising levels of the dipeptide in the olfactory lobe and thereby alleviates virus-mediated neuropathology.