In a new study from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, researchers found an effective treatment for critically ill COVID-19 patients.
They examined the effects of using an anti-inflammatory protein, alpha-1 antitryspin (AAT), to treat COVID-19 patients who have progressed to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
ARDS is a highly inflammatory state hallmarked by airway damage, respiratory failure and increased risk of death. Treatment options for COVID-19 patients who have ARDS are particularly limited.
AAT is a naturally occurring human protein produced by the liver and released into the bloodstream which normally acts to protect the lungs from the destructive actions of common illnesses.
In this study, AAT that had been purified from the blood of healthy donors was administered to patients with COVID-19-associated ARDS, with the aim of reducing inflammation.
The team found that treatment with AAT led to decreased inflammation after one week.
The study also found that the treatment was safe and well-tolerated, and did not interfere with patients’ ability to generate their own protective response to COVID-19.
This discovery suggests a potentially important role for AAT in the treatment of ARDS and other inflammatory diseases associated with COVID-19.
The researchers say that AAT might be able to provide some protection against the more harmful types of inflammation that arise in severe COVID-19 and other conditions with a similar inflammatory profile.
The study forms the basis for a larger trial to see how much of an effect reducing inflammation using AAT has on clinical outcomes such as mortality.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about the cause of inflammation and clotting in severe COVID-19, and you’ve had COVID-19. Do you get a free pass for a while?
For more information about Covid, please see recent studies about vitamin D deficiency linked to severe COVID-19 and death, and results showing that CBD from cannabis may inhibit COVID-19 infection.
The study is published in Med and was conducted by Dr. Oliver McElvaney et al.
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