Tocilizumab, used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, shows encouraging results in countering cytokine storms, which lead to the death of patients, announces the AP -HP.
The intrusion of SARS-CoV-2 viral particles into the lungs triggers an immune response in our body. Millions of cells are then deployed in order to fight the aggressor, and to repair the lung tissue. Among them:cytokines, whose role is to organize the lines of defence.
Normally, this inflammatory process makes it possible to precisely target the infected regions. But it can happen, in the face of particularly aggressive viruses, that the machine jams. The body then produces many more cytokines than necessary. Result:infected tissues are attacked, but also healthy tissues . This phenomenon, called "cytokine storm", has been observed in several patients severely affected by Covid-19.
"Instead of aiming at a target with a rifle, it's like using a missile “, popularizes at National Geographic Angela Rasmussen, virologist and associate researcher at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The problem is that by overreacting in this way, rather than helping us, our immune system only makes things worse.
That being said, many laboratories around the world are working to identify molecules (immuno-modulators) capable of countering these uncontrolled inflammatory reactions.
In this spirit, the Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) launched the CORIMUNO-19 trial on April 3, involving 129 people hospitalized in 13 hospitals. All of these patients had "moderate to severe" pneumonia and all required oxygen support.
In this trial, about half of the participants (65 patients) received one or two injections of tocilizumab – a drug used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis – in most of the standard treatment (oxygen, antibiotics and anticoagulants), while the others received only "standard" care. All were then followed for 14 days.
A preliminary report published on Monday, April 27 tells us that tocilizumab (Roche laboratory) has given encouraging initial results, improving "significantly the prognosis" of the patients concerned, indicates a press release.
This drug, which works by blocking the cytokine interleukin-6 receptor, would thus show promise in preventing the "inflammatory storm" in Covid-19 patients.
"It was found that patients treated with tocilizumab had less need for ventilation support and had a lower rate of death during the 14 days of tracking , reacted in the wake of the Ministry of Health. This is the first drug tested for which a significant effect is observed in the context of a clinical trial “.
Note that these results have not yet been evaluated by other researchers. They should normally be published in a peer-reviewed journal in the coming days. The doctors explain, however, that they "felt obliged, from an ethical point of view, to communicate this information pending peer review while continuing the longer follow-up of these patients “, specifies the AP-HP.
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