Antibodies in coronavirus survivors may help current patients

In 10 patients severely affected by the new coronavirus, a single dose of antibodies taken from the blood of people who have recovered from COVID-19 can save lives, reduce the duration of symptoms, improve oxygen levels, Has been announced to speed up clearance. Research report.

Preliminary survey results revealed from “pilot survey” It was published Minutes of the journal PNAS on Monday, National Academy of Sciences. Conducted in three hospitals in China, and promised to only take immune antibodies from recovered people (also called convalescent plasma) and suggest the benefits of administering them to those who fight severe cases of COVID-19 .

However, the discovery Long history A simple premise could be a powerful treatment for COVID-19 patients to fight for breathing. Early 20s^Th In the century, doctors transferred antibodies from the blood of patients who recovered from polio, measles, mumps, and flu to patients at risk of those infections. Doctors observed that patients who obtained convalescent plasma, using the immune memory of the virus in veteran infected individuals, recovered more quickly and completely than those who did not receive treatment.

On March 24, the US Food and Drug Administration has no vaccine and no definite treatment at least one year before COVID-19. approved Use of such therapy as treatment in clinical trials and for critically ill patients without other options.

New pilot studies suggest that treatment does not disappoint. One patient, a 46-year-old man who appeared at the hospital with fever, cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain, relied on a ventilator to push oxygen into his lungs, yet his blood oxygen levels were disastrous 86%. (Typical readings range from 95% to 100%.)

Eleven days after his first symptoms appeared, the patient received an infusion of so-called convalescent plasma. On day 12, his blood was negative for SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. The level of inflammation in his body has dropped sharply. And his blood oxygen level rose to 90%. The next day, he separated from the ventilator who had been breathing for three days.

In addition to his lungs, the patient’s immune system and liver function were both on the rope at the height of his illness and were steadily returning to normal four days after receiving the plasma antibody infusion.

In a 49-year-old woman without underlying illness, her COVID-19 infection quickly became short of breath and she was hospitalized. By day 7 after the onset of symptoms, a chest x-ray shows the characteristic opacity of ground glass, with fluid or protein (infiltrate) scattered in both lungs. Ten days after the onset of symptoms, convalescent plasma was injected. By day 12, she had removed the virus from the system and the chest x-ray had disappeared significantly.

A 50-year-old man with “large infiltration” in both lungs had a negative infection test 25 days after his lungs gradually disappeared and the first symptoms appeared.

In all ten patients, the symptoms that prompted them to seek emergency medical care disappeared or improved significantly within one to three days of receiving antibody transfusions from a recovered donor. Two of the three patients breathing with the help of a ventilator were able to descend to the oxygen supplied to the nose.

None of the 10 patients died and only one unexpected side effect was detected-one patient has red bruises on his face.

This study was not designed to have a comparative group of patients who did not have convalescent plasma. However, the authors created a control group from a randomized selection of 10 COVID-19 patients treated at the same hospital, matching 10 study participants for age, gender, and disease severity.

The two groups looked almost the same on the first day of hospitalization. But in the next few weeks, their illness had progressed in significantly different ways. In the control group, three died, six stabilized, and one recovered during the study.

Of the patients who received convalescent plasma, three were discharged from the hospital, and the remaining seven were rated “improved significantly” and were ready for discharge.

“This pilot study [convalescent plasma] The authors of the new study show that treatment shows a potential therapeutic effect and that the risk of treating severe COVID-19 patients is low. “One time [convalescent plasma] Higher concentrations of neutralizing antibodies tend to reduce viral load rapidly and improve clinical outcomes, “they added.

Lead Author Caiduan China’s National Biotec Group Co. Ltd. says only larger and more detailed studies will determine the dose of convalescent plasma that produces the most healing effect, and ideally when it should be given. States.

Recently, the New York Blood Center (NYBC) Emergency appeal Recovered COVID-19 patients donate plasma to create antibody-rich infusions. NYBC, the first state blood bank to become the central repository for convalescent plasma, collects and processes plasma for infusion and treats patients with severe or life-threatening COVID-19 infections Keep the bank.

Work under Guidelines released last week By American Assn. Blood bank, An international non-profit organization focused on transfusion medicine and cell therapy, dozens of community blood centers across the country Started again Collect blood to create such a treatment.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota Release A small trial of convalescent plasma as a means to reduce the complications of COVID-19.