Research is working on an anti-viral agent that can effectively prevent the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen from replicating and thus positively influence the course of a Covid-19 disease. As early as March, scientists expressed the assumption that this could be most likely possible with remdesivir among the existing antivirals. Remdesivir is known as the “Ebola remedy”; although the drug did not appear to have the desired effect in randomized trials with Ebola patients.
Applicability of Ebola remdesivir against Covid-19
Remdesivir has not yet been officially approved for the treatment of coronavirus. However, studies with Covid-19 patients are ongoing at various universities, which now appear to be promising.
Also interesting: can anticoagulants help with Covid-19?
On Thursday (April 16), the ARD news program “Moma” reported the first therapeutic success with Remdesivir at the Technical University of Munich. Here the alleged Ebola drug was administered to Covid 19 patients with symptoms such as severe coughing fits and high fever. Both PD Dr. med. Christoph Spinner, one of the responsible doctors, as well as the test subjects themselves described sudden improvements in the symptoms.
Results of Covid-19 study from L.A.
The “Ärzteblatt” currently reports on results from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. According to this, Jonathan Grein and his team found clinical improvements in 36 out of 52 Covid-19 patients 18 days after the drug was first administered.
The study took place under the same conditions as the Ebola study at the time: At the start of the study, the patient was injected with a dose of 200 milligrams of remdesivir, and on the following days it was 100 milligrams each.
Better prognosis for younger patients
All patients were confirmed cases of Sars-CoV-2 infection with restricted oxygen saturation, in which the disease symptoms had started twelve days before the start of the study.
As the research team explains in summary, among the successfully treated Covid-19 patients were primarily those who did not need to be ventilated at the start of remdesivir therapy. Likewise, the drug had shown effects especially in subjects who were younger than 50.
Also interesting: Who is one of the risk patients for the corona virus?
There were also deaths
Despite the 68 percent success rate with the Ebola agent, worsening of the clinical picture was documented – even deaths. Seven patients had not survived the study and their Covid 19 disease. All details of the study can currently be found in the “New England Journal of Medicine”.
–
