RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The application of lopinavir/ritonavir, also used to fight HIV infections, along with interferon beta, a protein that helps cells protect themselves from infection, confirmed medical sources to EL PAÍS.
“It’s an experimental course of treatment that has yielded positive results against other viruses,” explains Albert Bosch, president of the Spanish Society of Virology. “One of its greatest advantages is that it is an approved drug used in other indications, so there is no question about its safety,” he adds.
One of these treatment-prone viruses is the one that causes Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
Although a recent publication in Nature magazine recalled that “there are no approved treatments for MERS,” Saudi-Arabia -the country most affected by this disease- is promoting clinical studies in humans. “The results are promising, but there is still not enough evidence for their approval, and they are in an experimental stage,” said the experts consulted.
Santiago Moreno, head of infectious diseases at the Hospital Ramón y Cajal (Madrid), explains that “the protease of SARS-CoV-2 is very similar to that of HIV,” and that “this enzyme is crucial for the virus to replicate itself. “The combination of lopinavir and ritonavir inhibits and blocks HIV,” he adds. “The results we know so far about its use against the Covid-19 (coronavirus) are encouraging,” he says.
The interferon beta, the other drug used in Seville, is similar in action. It is one of the so-called signaling proteins naturally produced by human cells when infected by a virus. “The aim is to alert the other cells, which thus develop a greater resistance to infection”, explains Bosch.
Some hospitals in Wuhan have also employed the treatment used in Virgen del Rocío in patients with the Coronavirus (Covid-19), according to several reports published in scientific journals, although again “there is little evidence about its effectiveness,” according to experts.
The use of lopinavir/ritonavir along with interferon beta is one of the so-called treatments for “experimental use” approved by the Spanish Ministry of Health. These are therapies that can be requested when there are no therapeutic alternatives available, usually in serious or potentially fatal diseases. Doctors who think it may be useful for a particular patient must obtain written authorization to administer it from both the patient and the health authorities.
The successful results obtained at the Virgen do Rocío Hospital in this 62-year-old patient are remarkable due to the recent surge of Covid-19 and because it offers new clinical evidence. However, as is the case in medicine, an isolated case does not necessarily imply that it can be used in other patients, nor that the result will be the same. That is the task of clinical testing.
Source: El Pais