Arthritic drugs may improve COVID-19 survival in older patients

Review by Emily Henderson, Bachelor of ScienceNovember 15, 2020

A Types of arthritis The drug may reduce the risk of death in older patients with COVID-19.

This is the discovery of a new international study led by scientists at Imperial College London and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, which was published in the journal. Science Advances..

In an early stage study, 83 patients with a median age of 81 and suffering from moderate to severe COVID-19 infections received a drug called baricitinib. This drug is commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and was first identified by the Imperial team using artificial intelligence as a drug that may have antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects.

In this study, patients admitted to multiple hospitals in Italy and Spain had a 71% reduced risk of death compared to those who did not take the drug. The study also found that 17% of patients who received the drug died or needed to be ventilated. In contrast, 35% of the control group did not receive the drug.

The research team says the findings are being followed up in a large clinical trial.

While waiting for the vaccine to become widely available, there is an urgent need to find a more effective treatment for COVID-19. This is one of the first COVID-19 treatments to move from a computer to a clinic or laboratory. It was first identified by an AI algorithm in February. This algorithm has scanned thousands of potential drugs that may work against this virus.

This study suggests that the drug may help patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 recover and provide a new weapon against the virus. Large-scale clinical trials of this drug are currently underway to further investigate its potential. “

Professor Justin Stepping, Co-Chair of Research in the Department of Surgery and Cancer of Imperial

In the study, scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden worked with the Imperial team to grow small human organs called organoids in the lab to see how accurately the drug would fight COVID-19.

Research has revealed that the drug may help work in two ways: reducing the damage to organs caused by inflammation, and blocking the virus from entering human cells.

When infected with the COVID-19 virus called SARS-CoV-2, the body releases various types of inflammatory molecules called chemokines and cytokines. These molecules act as the body’s early warning system, telling the immune system that the body is under attack.

However, in the case of COVID-19, certain cytokines and chemokines, including what are called interleukins and interferons, make this warning system out of control, the so-called Cytokine storm..

Studies have shown that this cytokine storm not only causes serious damage to body organs, but also helps the virus access into human cells.

This study showed that certain cytokines, called interferons, increase the number of viral receptors or docking points. Doing this effectively lowers the drawbridge and allows the virus to invade the cells of the body.

Researchers have shown that the drug blocks the development of this process and increases survival from COVID-19. Studies have also suggested that COVID-19 increases the activity of genes associated with platelets, which makes blood sticky and increases the likelihood of forming blood clots. The drug baricitinib has been shown to reduce gene activity.

Professor Volker Lauschke, co-author of the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, explains: , Italy showed rapid improvement after being given the drug, but her husband and son who were not given baricitinib died. The study also revealed exactly how this drug protects us at the cellular level. This helps us to identify other treatments that may address COVID-19, so understand why other types of drugs have proven to be beneficial or not beneficial. please. “

Professor Stebbing said: Includes COV-BARRIER, which helps to create a complete picture of the benefits and side effects of oral medications (a small number of patients who had to discontinue treatment due to liver function problems). Further trials comparing baricitinib will also help improve outcomes for other drugs in COVID-19 patients. “