A large-scale study of a blood plasma treatment for covid-19 has been shown to yield anything but the hoped-for results. “Administration at a late stage of the disease can make inflammation worse,” says Prof. Dr. Bart Lambrecht.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has paved the way for a treatment for covid-19 with the so-called ‘healing plasma’. Administering the plasma with antibodies should help the sick to recover more quickly and cause less damage to the virus.
According to Prof. Bart Lambrecht, who already carried out a first experiment in April with a Belgian patient at UZ Gent, it is too early to apply the therapy on a large scale.
The FDA approved accelerated use of blood plasma, US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday. According to the American president, this is a ‘historic breakthrough’ in the fight against the corona virus, which will save many lives.
Not a panacea
‘Plasma is an attractive choice’, says Lambrecht, ‘but it is certainly not without danger and certainly not a panacea, as everyone now says just like that’.
In April UZ Gent already started an experiment with plasma, in which a doctor cured of covid-19 donated plasma to a corona patient with a poorly functioning immune system. Nevertheless, in the field of treatment ‘more scientific research is needed’, says Lambrecht.
There are currently two studies in Belgium on the use of plasma, one at KU Leuven, which investigates the effects of the blood plasma at an early stage of the disease. Another study in Liège is mapping the effect on patients in need of intensive care.
‘It is important that we complete those studies first’, says Lambrecht. He also refers to a large Rotterdam study that has shown anything but the hoped-for results and to a study by the American MAYO clinic, with more than 70,000 participants, whose scientific results have not yet been published.
‘You have to be very careful with plasma’
“The FDA has been on the brakes for a long time to start using this on a large scale,” says Lambrecht, “because you have to be very careful with plasma.”
Administration at a late stage of the disease may aggravate inflammation. ‘That is generally known and has already been demonstrated in the past, for example with the flu or yellow fever. If you administer antibodies there, the disease will get worse. ‘
An important role is therefore reserved for patient and donor selection. You have to find the right donors with the right amount of antibodies, combined with the right patient who will receive those antibodies early enough, Lambrecht explains.
He suspects that the results of the MAYO clinic study will clarify who will benefit from the treatment and who will not. Blood plasma could be especially useful preventively, Lambrecht believes. ‘It can mainly help prevent the disease. If you can give plasma to people in health care or in retirement homes, you will certainly prevent infections. ‘
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has paved the way for a treatment for covid-19 with the so-called ‘healing plasma’. By administering the plasma with antibodies, the sick should be able to recover more quickly and the virus should cause less damage. According to Prof. Dr. Bart Lambrecht, who already conducted an initial experiment in April with a Belgian patient at UZ Gent, it is too early to apply the therapy on a large scale. The FDA approved accelerated use of blood plasma, US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday. According to the American president, this is a ‘historic breakthrough’ in the fight against the corona virus, which will save many lives. ‘Plasma is an attractive choice’, says Lambrecht, ‘but it is certainly not without danger and certainly not a panacea, as everyone now says just like that’. In April UZ Gent already started an experiment with plasma, in which a doctor cured of covid-19 donated plasma to a corona patient with a poorly functioning immune system. Nevertheless, in the field of treatment ‘more scientific research is needed’, says Lambrecht. There are currently two studies in Belgium on the use of plasma, one at KU Leuven, which investigates the effects of the blood plasma at an early stage of the disease. Another study in Liège is mapping the effect on patients in need of intensive care. ‘It is important that we complete those studies first’, says Lambrecht. He also refers to a large Rotterdam study that has shown anything but the hoped-for results and to a study by the American MAYO clinic, with more than 70,000 participants, whose scientific results have not yet been published. “The FDA has been on the brakes for a long time to start using this on a large scale,” says Lambrecht, “because you have to be very careful with plasma.” Administration at a late stage of the disease may aggravate inflammation. ‘That is generally known and has already been demonstrated in the past, for example in the case of the flu or yellow fever. If you administer antibodies there, the disease will get worse. ‘ An important role is therefore reserved for patient and donor selection. You have to find the right donors with the right amount of antibodies, combined with the right patient who will receive those antibodies early enough, Lambrecht explains. He suspects that the results of the MAYO clinic study will clarify who will benefit from the treatment and who will not. Blood plasma could be especially useful preventively, Lambrecht believes. ‘It can mainly help prevent the disease. If you can give plasma to people in health care or in retirement homes, you will certainly prevent infections. ‘
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