-
Published: 09 February 2023
EDITED BY| CHRISTIAN MEGAN
SCIENCE- HEALTH SECTION CJ EDITOR
USA-February 9, 2023
Although covid has moved away from the headlines of the main press, only the development of new treatment options remains critical, especially in the face of new variants...
A published study revealed that clinical trials of a new anti-covid treatment, showed that a single dose of it reduces by half the likelihood of hospitalization in the event of infection with the virus, and the authors hope that the trials will lead to licensing of the drug
As Jeffrey Glenn, professor of immunology at Stanford University, and co-author of the study published in the journal "New England Journal of Medicine" (NEJM), said. About 500 people still die from the disease every day in the United States.
The therapy in question uses interferons, which are important proteins in the immune response. Jeffrey Glenn explained that they are secreted in the presence of the virus, attach to the receptors of certain cells, and then release a "natural antiviral defense mechanism" (different from antibodies)
There are several types of interferons, among which are called Lambda and their peculiarity is that they attach to the cells of the lungs where covid spreads. Treatment consists in injecting a manufactured version of interferon lambda within seven days of the appearance of the first symptoms of infection with the virus
The treatment was tested in clinical trials on more than 1,900 adults with covid, between June 2021 and February 2022 in Brazil and Canada. About 85% of those surveyed were not vaccinated against the virus