Treatment for Diseases Caused by RNA Viruses

A method of treating a human subject at risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection or a human subject infected with SARS-Cov2 to reduce morbidity and mortality risk associated with SARS-Cov-2, comprising:

• administering to the human subject an effective amount of a caspase inhibitor of at least caspase 1.

A method of treating a human subject infected or suspected of being infected with SARS-Cov2, comprising:

• administering an effective amount of a caspase inhibitor useful in treating COVID-19, wherein such administration optionally is provided before onset of COVID-19 symptoms or while the subject has mild or moderate severity of COVID-19.

A method of treating a human subject infected with SARS-Cov2, comprising the step of:

• administering an effective amount of (a) a compound which inhibits a caspase, (b) a compound that binds to an ACE-2 receptor, and (c) a compound which binds to SARS-CoV-2 main protease, wherein the step of administering occurs before onset of COVID-19 symptoms or, during progression beyond mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms.

A method of testing to predict severity of SARS-Cov-2 disease, comprising:

• testing a blood sample of a subject to ascertain an amount of caspase 1 and comparing the amount of caspase 1 detected to the amount of caspase 1 in one or more control samples of healthy individuals;
• and
• determining that the subject is at higher risk of experiencing a severe form of the disease when the amount of caspase 1 in the subject’s blood sample is statistically significantly higher than amounts of caspase 1 detected in the one or more control samples.

A method of testing to predict severity of SARS-Cov-2 disease in a plurality of human subjects, comprising:

• testing a plurality of blood samples of a plurality of subjects infected with SARS-Cov-2 to ascertain an amount of caspase 1 in each blood sample and comparing the amount of caspase 1 from at least one subject blood sample to amounts of caspase 1 detected in one or more control samples of healthy individuals;
• and
• determining that a subject is at higher risk of experiencing a severe form of the disease when the amount of caspase 1 in the subject’s sample is statistically significantly higher than the amounts of caspase 1 detected in one or more control samples, and determining that a subject is at lower risk of experiencing a severe form of the disease when the amount of caspase 1 in the subject’s sample is not statistically significantly higher than the amount of caspase 1 detected in one or more control samples.

A method of treating a human subject having or at risk of having aberrant red blood cell aggregation or thrombosis, comprising:

• administering to the human subject an effective amount of an inhibitor of caspase-3, wherein the human subject is (a) at risk for contracting an illness caused by a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus or (b) is infected with a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus, thereby preventing or reducing aberrant red blood cell aggregation or thrombosis.

A method of treating a human subject at risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection or a subject infected with SARS-Cov2 to reduce morbidity and mortality risk associated with SARS-Cov-2, comprising:

• administering to the human subject an effective amount of an inhibitor of caspase-3, thereby reducing the risk of adverse outcomes associated with SARS-Cov-2.

A method of treating a human subject having, or at risk of developing late sequelae of Covid-19 infection, comprising:

• administering to the human subject an effective amount of a caspase inhibitor of at least caspase 1.