Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Dec 06, 2025 1 hour, 27 minutes ago
Medical News: Telmisartan Shows New Promise in Easing COVID-19 Inflammation
A new pilot clinical study has revealed that telmisartan, a common blood pressure medication, may help reduce harmful inflammation in people with mild COVID-19. Researchers from the University of Southern California’s Alfred E Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the John A Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the Keck School of Medicine at USC explored whether this drug could rebalance the body’s renin angiotensin system, which becomes disrupted during infection. According to this
Medical News report, early findings suggest telmisartan may help the body shift toward a more protective response, even though it does not change symptom severity scores.
Scientists report telmisartan may help ease inflammation in mild COVID-19 by
restoring balance in the body’s protective ACE2 pathways.
How COVID-19 disrupts the body
COVID-19 reduces the activity of ACE2, an important enzyme that normally helps break down inflammatory molecules such as angiotensin II. When ACE2 becomes depleted, inflammation increases and can worsen symptoms. Scientists believe that angiotensin receptor blockers like telmisartan could help restore balance and reduce inflammation by activating the protective ACE2-Ang(1-7)-Mas receptor pathway.
The clinical trial and what researchers found
In this study, adults with mild COVID-19 were randomly given either 40 mg of telmisartan once daily or a placebo. While the medication did not improve clinical symptom scores, it triggered striking changes in blood biomarkers linked to inflammation. By Day 4, patients taking telmisartan showed sharp reductions in inflammatory markers such as MMP-1 and TNFR1. By Day 21, levels of gp130 and soluble P-selectin shifted in ways that suggested dampened inflammatory activity. Many inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-6 were also reduced, pointing to a broad calming of the immune response.
The study also found that telmisartan lowered D-dimer levels over time, a positive sign since high D-dimer after COVID-19 has been linked to blood clotting risks. In contrast, the placebo group showed smaller improvements.
Laboratory experiments confirm antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects
To better understand these results, the team conducted cell studies using SARS-CoV-2-infected lung cells. Telmisartan increased ACE2 and Mas receptor levels while lowering AT1R and AT2R, shifting the system toward inflammation-resolving pathways. It also reduced viral load in a concentration-dependent manner, supporting earlier predictions that telmisartan may interfere with viral processing.
Telmisartan boosted levels of protective angiotensin peptides such as Ang(1-7) and Ang(1-9), while decreasing harmful AngII at achievable doses. This molecular shift shows how the drug may help calm the body’s inflammatory response.
What these findings mean
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Although telmisartan did not speed up visible symptom recovery in mild cases, its powerful effects on immune signals and viral behavior suggest it may still offer important benefits. The researchers say larger trials, possibly with higher doses, are needed to better understand how this drug could prevent long-term complications or reduce inflammation in more severe cases.
Conclusions
Overall, this study indicates that telmisartan at 40 mg per day is safe and can meaningfully reduce inflammation in people with mild COVID-19. The drug appears to activate protective pathways, increase ACE2 levels, decrease viral activity, and lower key inflammatory markers associated with worsening disease. While clinical symptoms did not change in this small pilot trial, the biological improvements observed are significant and highlight telmisartan’s potential as an additional tool for controlling both acute and lingering inflammation in COVID-19. Further and larger studies will be important to confirm these benefits and explore whether higher doses could offer even stronger protection.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Scientific Reports.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-30304-x
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Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/covid19-drugs
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/covid-19-supplements
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/covid-19-herbs
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