Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 11:51 p.m.
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1115 readings
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some drugs used in HIV treatment may play a role in preventing COVID-19 infections, according to preliminary data from recent studies that may explain why people with HIV do not appear to be at increased risk of developing a of COVID-19 although they are generally more vulnerable to infections, Reuters reports.
Doctors in France have studied more than 500 people with HIV, a third of whom have received long-term treatment with protease inhibitors as part of their antiviral therapy.
For over a year, infections with coronavirus were diagnosed in 12% of participants taking protease inhibitors and in 22% of those not receiving these drugs. Four patients in the second group were hospitalized with COVID-19.
After analyzing others risk factorsit was found that individuals taking protease inhibitors had a 70% lower risk of becoming infected with coronavirus than patients not taking these medicines, according to data scheduled for presentation at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
Some new treatments for COVID-19 use protease inhibitors that prevent the virus from multiplying.
“Protease inhibitors have been used for a long time, have a good safety profile and are generally well tolerated,” Dr. Steve Nguala of Villeneuve-Saint-Georges Hospital said in a statement.
They have the potential to “prevent the spread of future infections and mutations,” he said, adding that more studies are needed to confirm the findings.
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