COVID-19: risk for cytokine targeting in chronic inflammatory diseases?

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has become pandemic. With sharply rising infection rates, patient groups characterized by an enhanced infection risk will be challenged by the virus. In this context, patients with chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases are of particular interest, as these diseases are characterized by an intrinsic immune dysfunction leading to inflammation that may enhance risk for severe infection. Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases are often treated with cytokine blocking therapy. This comment discusses whether such therapies may pose a risk — or even a benefit — in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic.