- Mar 17, 2015
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Possible treatment of considerable interest I think.
This is another article on the same topic as my last post pinpointing why some become severely ill from covid 19 while others do not.
(earlier post recommended as background reading:
https://www.christianforums.com/threads/what-causes-severe-covid-19-illness-starting-to-become-clear.8172821 )
But this article points out the possible (and possibly quite good) treatment with a plausible hypothesis on how to apply this new understanding --
"...With most viruses, “if you generate a robust interferon response within a few minutes of exposure to the virus, you’re likely going to be fine.
But, says Iwasaki, “in the case of COVID, this well-orchestrated line of events isn’t happening.” The virus shuts down the interferon response early on. That allows the virus to invade the lungs and do damage without setting off early intruder alarms. Other immune chemicals, called cytokines and chemokines, flood the damaged area attempting to expel invaders and heal the tissue, but can set off a “cytokine storm” that further batters tissues. The high levels of interferon alpha seen in severely ill patients may be produced by cells that don’t normally make those chemicals in a last-ditch effort to combat the virus, Iwasaki says."
“The earlier you can control the virus, the less damage you’re going to get,” Iwasaki says. And one promising way of potentially controlling the virus early is by giving people interferons.
Fish and others have already compiled data suggesting that two forms of the drug, interferon alpha and interferon beta, may help fight the coronavirus. In a small study of 77 people with COVID-19, Fish and colleagues found that interferon alpha helped clear viral infections almost seven days sooner on average than people given arbidol hydrochloride, a drug thought to block viral entry to cells.
What’s more, ramping up interferon didn’t lead to an overzealous immune response, as feared. In fact, people taking interferon had lower levels of an inflammatory protein called IL-6 in their blood than those taking the other drug...
...
More trials of interferon alpha, beta and of interferon lambda are in the works. ... The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced August 5 that it has begun a clinical trial of about 1,000 hospitalized people
... But Iwasaki’s study hints that it may be too late to give interferons once a person is already sick enough to be hospitalized.
... Giving interferons as soon as possible after detecting a coronavirus infection may prevent severe illness and speed recovery..."
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/covid-19-coronavirus-immune-system-early-treatment-interferon
Perhaps at some point we will learn when to give this natural immune system agent to help people the most.
This is another article on the same topic as my last post pinpointing why some become severely ill from covid 19 while others do not.
(earlier post recommended as background reading:
https://www.christianforums.com/threads/what-causes-severe-covid-19-illness-starting-to-become-clear.8172821 )
But this article points out the possible (and possibly quite good) treatment with a plausible hypothesis on how to apply this new understanding --
"...With most viruses, “if you generate a robust interferon response within a few minutes of exposure to the virus, you’re likely going to be fine.
But, says Iwasaki, “in the case of COVID, this well-orchestrated line of events isn’t happening.” The virus shuts down the interferon response early on. That allows the virus to invade the lungs and do damage without setting off early intruder alarms. Other immune chemicals, called cytokines and chemokines, flood the damaged area attempting to expel invaders and heal the tissue, but can set off a “cytokine storm” that further batters tissues. The high levels of interferon alpha seen in severely ill patients may be produced by cells that don’t normally make those chemicals in a last-ditch effort to combat the virus, Iwasaki says."
“The earlier you can control the virus, the less damage you’re going to get,” Iwasaki says. And one promising way of potentially controlling the virus early is by giving people interferons.
Fish and others have already compiled data suggesting that two forms of the drug, interferon alpha and interferon beta, may help fight the coronavirus. In a small study of 77 people with COVID-19, Fish and colleagues found that interferon alpha helped clear viral infections almost seven days sooner on average than people given arbidol hydrochloride, a drug thought to block viral entry to cells.
What’s more, ramping up interferon didn’t lead to an overzealous immune response, as feared. In fact, people taking interferon had lower levels of an inflammatory protein called IL-6 in their blood than those taking the other drug...
...
More trials of interferon alpha, beta and of interferon lambda are in the works. ... The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced August 5 that it has begun a clinical trial of about 1,000 hospitalized people
... But Iwasaki’s study hints that it may be too late to give interferons once a person is already sick enough to be hospitalized.
... Giving interferons as soon as possible after detecting a coronavirus infection may prevent severe illness and speed recovery..."
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/covid-19-coronavirus-immune-system-early-treatment-interferon
Perhaps at some point we will learn when to give this natural immune system agent to help people the most.
