Covid: substance reduces the risk of hospitalization by half – 02/03/2023 – Health

Research done mainly in Brazil noted that a drug was successful in halving the risks of hospitalization in cases of Covid-19. A drop in viral load and a reduction in the risk of death were other positive results observed in the study.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the article is signed by researchers from Brazil and Canada, countries where the research took place. The study investigated pegylated interferon lambda, a substance not yet authorized for commercial use in Brazil.

Gilmar Reis, first author of the article and associate professor at PUC-Minas, explains that interferons, proteins that act in the body’s defense, are naturally produced to fight different infections.

One of these types of interferon is lambda, whose action is aimed in particular at defending against infections in the airways and digestive tract. These regions coincide with the main targets of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

So, it is to be expected that interferon lambda has a central role against the viral disease. The reality, however, is different. Reis explains that, by a still unknown mechanism, Sars-CoV-2 manages to turn off the reproduction genes of interferon lambda, which affects the natural production of the substance.

Faced with this situation, the body makes use of other mechanisms to fight the virus. In these immune response actions, a cytokine storm can occur, an event that leads to a generalized inflammatory process in the human body that is closely associated with hospitalizations and mortality from Covid.

Therefore, a correct amount of interferon lambda even at the beginning of the Sars-CoV-2 infection can be advantageous to avoid the evolution to a critical scenario of the disease. It was this hypothesis that the researchers investigated in the study, turning to the effect of the substance in an injectable format.

To reach its goal, the study had two groups: 931 patients with access to pegylated interferon lambda and another 1,018 using placebo. From then on, the scientists measured the participants’ main outcomes through Covid-19: hospitalizations or observation in a medical emergency for at least eight hours.

It was seen that, among those who used the substance, the number of patients who faced one of these two outcomes was 51% lower than in people using the placebo.

Reis draws attention to the fact that most of the participants had already been vaccinated against Covid-19 at the time of the survey. Even so, a small portion of them had not taken the vaccine and, in these cases, the risk reduction of hospitalizations rose to around 80%.

In addition to the main outcomes, there were other resolutions analyzed in the survey. One was the risk of death, both from different causes and from respiratory problems. Similarly, those who had access to pegylated interferon lambda showed a drop in these risks near the time of admission to hospital.

Reis explains that this result is, to some extent, expected: when there is a drop in hospitalizations, it is natural that there is also a contraction in death rates.

Another factor that the study observed was the reduction of about 400 times in the viral load of patients with access to the medicine. This is not the main function of the substance, since it is not an antiviral. However, because it causes an improvement in the immune response, the drug also leads to a better performance of the organism in the fight against the virus.

The sooner the better

The indication to apply the medicine is up to seven days after the onset of symptoms of Covid-19. However, the researchers also carried out an analysis for cases in which the person had access to the medication within three days after the beginning of suspicion of the infection.

As a result, the advantages associated with the remedy were even more relevant. For Reis, the data also reiterates the positive impacts of the substance on viral infection. “If I’m giving a medication that is considered the initial barrier against a virus, then, in theory, the earlier I give the medication, the better for the patient.”

Although it had positive results, there is still no expectation of a possible approval of the substance for use in Brazil. Reis mentions that other pegylated interferons are already sold in the country, but, because they are not of the lambda type, they have low effectiveness against Covid-19.