Do glucocorticoids influence the severity of COVID-19? Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) as a model study population

This project has been approved for funding - the administrative activation is still in progress

Among many drugs tested in the last few months for the treatment of COVID-19,  a glucocorticoid, dexamethasone, has been preliminary reported to be very effective in severe COVID-10 cases, despite concerns regarding delayed viral clearance and immune suppression.

We will investigate if another drug of the same class, hydrocortisone, taken chronically, modifies the clinical course of SARS-CoV-2 infection. To do so, we will study a frail population affected by a rare disease, named Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), needing life-long and life-saving glucocorticoid treatment at supraphysiological dosage. This may shed light on the role of mild immune suppression, due to glucocorticoid treatment, in the susceptibility to Sars-CoV-2 and clinical management of infected patients, helping to generate new hypotheses concerning the possibility of tailoring immune modulation to maximize clinical benefit.