The cancer physician, Professor Andreas Neubauer and his colleagues report on their success of treatment in the journal “Leukemia”.
The Federal Institute for drugs and medical devices approved a clinical study in which the scientists ‘ failure of the scientists to the use of Ruxolitinib against Covid-19-associated lung want to investigate.
Even if the rampant difficulty in breathing causes the end of the Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 mostly only mild, so the Covid-19-disease is but about five percent of the people Affected so severely that it can lead to lung failure.
“The mortality in these cases is high,” says Dr. Thomas Wiesmann, who was in charge of the patient together with the Team in ICU at the clinic for anesthesia and intensive therapy of the University hospital in Marburg.
Overreaction of the body’s own defense
The patient is a 65-year-old woman without pre-existing conditions, who was admitted due to progressive shortness of breath and fever. Her respiratory distress worsened rapidly, so she had to be intubated for three hours after posting, to be artificially ventilated. A Test confirmed that infection with Sars-CoV-2 was present. The overall prognosis of the patient was damage due to other Organ as a very poorly assessed.
“From Chinese publications, we know that the patients are characterized by a severe and even fatal course of by a so-called cytokine storm,” says Neubauer. “This is a Flooding of the body with substances that stimulate the immune system.” This Overreaction of the body’s own defenses damage the fabric the easier the invading Virus spreads.
Improvement of breathing and heart function
Neubauer suspected that the person might respond to the drug Ruxolitinib. The agent inhibits enzymes in the body involved in excessive inflammatory reactions called. “We were faced with a serious decision”, says Professor Dr. Hinnerk Wulf, Director of the clinic for anesthesia and intensive therapy: “Because if the theory also works in practice was uncertain; the experimental treatment was also associated with a risk.”
In fact, the state of the Marburg patient improved after her Ruxolitinib was administered to The treatment team noted a clinical stabilization as well as a rapid improvement of breathing and heart function. From the tenth day of your hospital stay, the patient could be weaned off gradually from the ventilator. Also the multiplication of the virus was set during the administration of the cancer drug reduced.
All patients with a positive history
Apparently, it is not the success of the treatment to a specific case: The Marburg Team administered the cancer drug still several other patients, to get to the severe course of the disease in the handle. “In all, the medium is longer than a week, have been administered, it has become good in the end,” explains Neubauer.
“The temporal connection between the beginning of the Ruxolitinib administration and the health improvement is so narrow that the presumption is close, the inhibition could have contributed to the favorable clinical course”, explains Dr. Neubauer.
- Original publication: Andreas Neubauer & al.: Ruxolitinib for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), Leukemia 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-020-0907-9
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