05/07/2020 - 11:57
- Clarín.com
- Society
The World Health Organization recommended not taking ibuprofen for patients with symptoms of coronavirus. However, a treatment based on that anti-inflammatory can provide hope. Cordovan researchers developed it to treat cystic fibrosis and successfully applied it to five patients who are being treated in that province.
Although the effect for which ibuprofen is best known is anti-inflammatory , the drug also has bactericidal properties . This is what the researchers from the Center of Excellence in Products and Processes of Córdoba (CEPROCOR) pointed out, who worked in this development together with the private company Química Luar and had the support of the provincial government.
"It has many properties, but it is insoluble in water. We made it soluble (sodium ibuprofenate) and created a hypertonic solution (with a high concentration of salt) to nebulize patients with cystic fibrosis, ”Dante Beltramo, a CONICET researcher at CEPROCOR, explained to La Voz del Interior.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes mucus to build up in the lungs and is colonized by bacteria. Covid-19 is caused by a virus. Then, and because of the urgency of the pandemic, with his colleague Roxana Alasino, they decided to test something in patients that they had already experienced in the laboratory: that sodium ibuprofenate can also inactivate viruses . Through nebulization, it is embedded in the lipid membrane of the virus, inactivates it and prevents it from replicating. "It works like a soap," the researcher graphed.
As Beltramo explained to La Voz, the anti-inflammatory effect of ibuprofen also has a utility in the case of the coronavirus , since Sars Cov-2 produces inflammation in the lungs. "Sometimes it turns into hyperinflammation, which is what produces the most severe cases ," added the researcher. And, in addition, it could influence how the virus enters the cell : "It acts on actin, a protein that it gives the cells structure. They are modeling work and also experiments with ibuprofen to treat Ebola with good results. "
Demonstration. The drug is applied with a special nebulizer. (Luar Chemistry / The Voice)
This treatment, which had been tested in one patient with idiopathic fibrosis and in several with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was applied in five with Covid-19 through a compassionate use protocol . The first three cases were young people with mild symptoms. "After five days of misting, the swab was negative and symptoms such as loss of smell reversed," Luis Argañarás, managing partner of Quimica Luar, told the Cordovan newspaper. The other two were older than 75 years who needed a respirator due to their oxygen saturation levels. “In five days they were impeccable. Doctors cannot believe it. In one day, the saturation level rose to 97 percent with oxygen assistance and after three days it reached 95 percent without assistance, "said the businessman, who was quick to clarify that these numbers" are not statistically significant because they are few. cases, although it is exciting ”.
"Covid-19 does not have specific treatment, so there is a need to recommend medications that are not approved," the newspaper from the Cordoba Ministry of Health, which approved an expanded compassionate use mechanism that is being evaluated by a committee of experts, told the newspaper. . This committee recommended that a pilot test be applied to 40 patients admitted to the San Roque hospital.
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