The potential benefit of telmisartan to protect overweight COPD patients from the acquisition of COVID-19

Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have long been identified to have an elevated serum level of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the cellular entry receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The newest discoveries by Higham et al. (1) were the increased ACE2 expression in the bronchial epithelium of overweight COPD patients compared to their non-overweight counterparts.