E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Israeli Researchers Announce Breakthrough in Coronavirus Treatment, Arthritis Drug May Also Help
Another to add to this list. We’ll see, but the ferment among researchers is certainly exciting.
[Hamodia] A group of researchers in northern Israel said Thursday they had achieved a "scientific breakthrough" in treating coronavirus. At a presser, researchers of the Migal Galilee Research Institute said that the breakthrough had come while they were doing research on coronavirus in birds. A treatment had been discovered which cured the birds infected with coronavirus, and clinical trials at Israel’s Volcani Agricultural Research Institute had confirmed the treatment’s viability.

The basic coronavirus in birds is very similar in patterns of infection and effect of the virus in humans, and the genetic structure of the virus in both humans and birds is very similar, the researchers said. As a result, the treatment developed for birds could be applicable to humans ‐ and they believed that an effective treatment could be developed for humans within three months, they said.

David Zigdon, Chief Operating Officer of the Institute, said that "there is a great need for an immediate solution to human infection of coronavirus, and we have been working to do that nonstop. The solution we are developing against COVID-19 virus has proven effective, and we believe a version for human treatment can be ready within eight to 10 weeks. That would be followed by a 90-day test period to ensure safety. The treatment we developed for birds is given orally, and the treatment we are developing for humans will also be given orally."

Director of the Institute Professor Dan Levanon said the speed with which the treatment could be used would depend on regulatory approval. "Under the current conditions in which the disease is causing terrible losses, I believe that state regulators would be very lenient in the various stages that the treatment must pass before it is approved, of course ensuring that it will do no harm via side effects and the like. Under normal conditions, approval of a treatment like this would likely take several years," he said.

How an Arthritis Drug Could Treat Coronavirus Infections

[AmCouncilOfScienceAndHealth] Scientists discovered that a single mutation (i.e., a single letter change in our 3-billion-letter genome) may have doubled a person's risk of becoming infected with the 2009 pandemic strain of influenza. In other words, an individual's genetics -- particularly when it comes to genes involved with the immune system (as was the case in the flu research) -- may be just as much to blame as the microbe's genetics.

HOW AN ARTHRITIS DRUG COULD TREAT CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS
An effective immune response must be of the proper strength and directed at an appropriate target. If these two criteria aren't met, bad things can happen, such as autoimmune disease or a lethal over-reaction to a peanut. The same is true when the immune system targets a dangerous microbe. The response must not be too weak or too strong. If it's too weak, the microbe will overcome the body; if it's too strong, the body can suffer from collateral damage.

One way collateral damage can occur is when the immune system sends out too many pro-inflammatory signals. The immune system is constantly "talking" to other parts of the immune system using chemical messengers known as cytokines. Some encourage inflammation, others discourage it. If too many pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as one called interleukin-6 (IL-6) are released, a "cytokine storm" is said to have developed.

Typically, IL-6 is deployed in order to elicit a quick response to infection and tissue injury. But if too much is produced, the entire body can undergo an inflammatory response, which can be lethal if it leads to multiple organ failure. Ultimately, it's this sort of system-wide immunological overreaction that causes people to die from septic shock. It may also be responsible for some of the deaths due to influenza and SARS.

Something similar may be happening with people who become infected with the Wuhan coronavirus and develop the disease now known as COVID-19. Perhaps they have an immunogenetic profile that, for some reason, overreacts to the virus. Thus, a drug that targets IL-6 could, in theory, help block an overreactive immune response.

And that's precisely what China has just discovered. An antibody drug that blocks IL-6 receptors (called Actemra or tocilizumab) has shown promise in treating patients in Chinese clinics. FiercePharma explains that this drug was approved by the FDA in 2017 to treat cytokine storms and in 2010 to treat rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition. What causes that? You guessed it: Too much IL-6.
Posted by: trailing wife 2020-03-09
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=565491