Nitric oxide and interval hypoxic training in COVID-19 rehabilitation— new research direction

COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, primarily affects lung tissue and disrupts gas exchange, leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome, systemic hypoxia, and lung damage. The search for methods of prevention and rehabilitation, especially after suffering from pneumonia caused by COVID-19, is on the agenda. This article discusses the possibilities of the interval hypoxic training (IHT) method for preventing infections by initiating nitric oxide production in the body. One of the main effects of IHT is the balanced stimulation of nitric oxide (NO) secretion. Over the past two decades, there has been an increasing interest in the function of nitric oxide (NO) in the human body. Nitric oxide plays a key role in maintaining normal vascular function and regulating inflammatory processes, including those leading to lung damage and the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Our immune system destroys bacteria and viruses by oxidative burst, i.e. when oxygen accumulates inside the cell. This process also involves nitric oxide, a signaling molecule that has an antibacterial and antiviral effect, as well as regulates vascular tone and affects the permeability of the cell wall. Interval hypoxytherapy enhances endogenous oxidative protection and increases the amount of nitric oxide, thus allowing the body’s cells to resist infection more effectively. Mitochondrial NOS induction and mitochondrial NO synthesis increase under the action of pathogenic factors on the cell. By modulating the activity of mtNOS and the synthesis of mitochondrial NO, it is possible to increase the resistance to hypoxic effects. Interval hypo-hyperoxic training as an effective non-specific method of increasing the body’s defenses is indispensable not only in the prevention of viral infection, but also in rehabilitation after viral pneumonia, as well as as a method that reduces the severity of viral infection in the event of infection.