What everyone in the world wants now is the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it unlikely to happen anytime soon, given the rising number of new infections and deaths related to the disease in many countries. Available evidence suggests that vaccination against the disease is the best way to prevent yourself from getting severely ill and hospitalization. Meanwhile, researchers are also coming up with new treatment strategies to improve the survival for COVID-19 patients. For example, a clinical trial conducted at University of Virginia Health System has suggested the anti-allergy medicine dupilumab, which is used to treat asthma, eczema and chronic sinus inflammation, can reduce risk of death due to COVID-19. Dupilumab is widely available under the brand name Dupixent.
In the randomized trial, as many as 90 per cent of patients who received the monoclonal antibody (dupilumab) were alive at 60 days, compared with 76.2 per cent of patients who received a placebo. Less number of patients receiving dupilumab needed intensive care, compared to the placebo group.
Based on their findings, the researchers are hopeful that this anti-allergy medicine could be a promising treatment for COVID-19 and help decrease deaths due to the disease.
The UVA team has started work for a multi-site trial to validate these preliminary results.
According to the UVA researchers, the risk of needing a ventilator is significantly higher in COVID-19 patients who have high levels of interleukin-13 in their blood. Interleukin-13 is a protein that is known to trigger inflammation in the body. They found that dupilumab can improve the body's immune response to COVID-19, by blocking the effects of IL-13.
The researchers reported their findings in the scientific journal Open Forum of Infectious Diseases.
However, the experts noted that dupilumab is not a magic bullet against COVID-19. They are just suggesting that it could be a useful treatment for appropriate patients. Additionally, they stressed that larger trials are needed to better understand the drug's potential benefits.
