Abstract

We recognize the emergent health problems of COVID-19. Although primarily a respiratory disease, compelling evidence suggests its evolution into a multi-organ disease characterized by cerebrovascular and cardiovascular damage, among other organ pathology and symptoms. That COVID-19 manifests initially as an acute respiratory disease but evolves into a slow-progressive disease with many consequential co-morbidities, warrant that treatment and management of the disease include not just lung-targeted therapies, but treatments directed to the brain, heart, and other organs. That the overarching COVID-19 pathology implicates aberrant immune and inflammatory responses suggests a key role of immunodulation-associated signaling pathways.  These evolving pathological features of COVID-19 suggest crosstalk between immunomodulation and conditioning medicine. That surviving COVID-19-infected patients may develop immunity against the virus can predispose these individuals to be “conditioned” to become immune to the second wave of the COVID-19, indicating the potential of passive immunity-based treatment against the virus. Indeed, clinical trials are underway testing the efficacy of convalescent plasma harvested from recovered COVID-19 patients based on the notion  that these  individuals may mount a robust immune antibody response that can dampen the harmful proteins found on COVID-19. The critical role of conditioning medicine for COVID-19 and its co-morbid diseases provides the impetus for us to solicit this special issue on COVID-19 and Conditioning Medicine.