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Breaking news | Arthritis drugs may help patients with coronavirus by calming a deadly inflammatory cytokine storm

 


New research suggests that rheumatoid arthritis drugs may help improve the condition of critically ill patients.

Tocilizumab, marketed under the Actemra brand, is an anti-inflammatory drug that scientists believe can control the overreaction of the immune system to viruses.

Seven of the patients who were given the drug saw that severe symptoms could reduce such fever and get rid of ventilator and oxygen therapy.

With no vaccine available yet, it is imperative to test both existing drugs and therapies to stop the disease that killed more than 183,000 Americans.

A new study found that tocilizumab (pictured), a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, helps coronavirus patients escape ventilator and oxygen therapy

The drug reduced the levels of PAI-1, a protein that causes small blood clots in blood vessels throughout the body, including the lungs (above)

Tocilizumab belongs to a class of drugs called interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibitors that help mitigate a dangerous overreaction of the body’s immune system to the virus called the storm of cytokines.

These so-called storms occur when the body not only fights the virus, but also its own cells and tissues.

In the case of COVID-19, a disease caused by the virus, the cytokine storm can cause respiratory distress and can lead to multisystem organ failure and death.

Tocilizumab is not currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in patients with coronavirus.

This overstimulation-also called cytokine release syndrome (CRS)-occurs in people who suffer from trauma, such as microbial infections and burns.

“We know which cytokines are involved, but there is no specific immunotherapy for CRS and treatment is limited to supportive care,” said Sujin Kang, an associate professor at Osaka University in Japan.

For research, Minutes of the National Academy of Sciences, The team examined cytokines in 91 patients diagnosed with CRS.

The patient had high levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and MCP-10, and a protein called PAI-1, which causes small blood clots in systemic blood vessels, including the lungs.

Previous studies have shown that increased PAI-1 levels are associated with more severe cases of pneumonia, the leading cause of death in people with COVID-19.

“Examination of the cytokine profile in patients with severe COVID-19 revealed an increase in IL-6 early in the disease process, leading to vascular PAI-1 release,” said Professor of Immunomodulation, Osaka. First author Tadamitsu Kishimoto said.

“Interestingly, PAI-1 levels were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory distress.”

This means that IL-6 is associated with elevated levels of other cytokines and PAI-1, and that IL-6 signaling is important for patients to develop CRS.

Researchers injected patients with tocilizumab, which reduced blood levels of PAI-1 and other cytokines.

Patients also saw improvements in clinical symptoms such as ventilator removal and oxygen therapy.

“In particular, the reduced PAI-1 levels and clinical improvement in COVID19 patients after tocilizumab injection suggest that tocilizumab treatment improved vascular endothelial function in these patients,” the authors said.

“Together, our findings suggest that elevated PAI-1 levels may support the progression of endothelial and coagulopathy in severe COVID-19 patients.”

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