Prof. Jacob Nahmias from the Hebrew University proved in a clinical trial conducted at Barzilai Hospital that the drug designed to lower blood lipids reduced the inflammation caused by the corona virus within 48 hours in severe corona patients and eliminated the need for artificial respiration
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has infected over 165 million people worldwide and caused nearly 3.5 million deaths since its appearance. The recent vaccination efforts that brought Israel back to normal for a short period have already become less effective due to several variants of the virus that challenge the current vaccines. While COVID-19 usually causes mild illness, in some patients it can develop into a severe infection that requires medical intervention.
About a year ago, Prof. Yaakov Nachmias, head of the Center for Bioengineering at the Hebrew University, found that the corona virus causes the accumulation of fats in the lungs, which causes severe inflammation, in an article that received very wide exposure in Israel and the world. Prof. Nachmias and his team identified the lipid-lowering drug TriCor (fenofibrate) as an effective antiviral drug, and showed that it reduces damage to lung cells and blocks virus replication in laboratory experiments. In October 2020, the team reported on an observational study conducted at several clinical centers in Israel that supported the original findings. The team then launched an interventional clinical study for the treatment of severe COVID-19 patients at the Barzilai Medical Center with the support of Abbott Laboratories.
Now, the group of researchers reports promising results in an interventional clinical study led by Prof. Nachmias and guided by Prof. Shlomo Maayan, director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at the Barzilai Medical Center. In the study, 15 COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized in serious condition with pneumonia requiring respiratory support were treated. The patients received 145 mg per day of TriCor (fenofibrate) for 10 days in addition to the standard treatment and monitoring of the continued progression of the disease.
"The results are excellent," said Prof. Nachmias, "the advanced inflammatory markers, which are the hallmark of the deterioration of the disease, decreased significantly within 48 hours of the start of treatment. Furthermore, 14 of the 15 severe patients did not need oxygen support in less than a week after the start of treatment, with past data showing that most severe patients need two or more weeks of respiratory support." These results are promising, since TriCor (fenofibrate) is a well-known drug that was already approved by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1975 for long-term use with a very high level of safety. Because of this, the TriCor approval process for the treatment of Corona will be a few years shorter compared to the drugs that are produced today for a similar purpose. "Fenofibrate is much safer than other drugs that have been proposed so far," stressed Prof. Nachmias, "and the mechanism of action is not specific to a particular strain of the virus, meaning that the drug can be relevant against most variants. We are eagerly awaiting the results of the placebo-controlled study."
"All the patients were discharged from the hospital in less than a week after the start of the treatment and were sent home to complete the 10-day treatment, with no reports of side effects related to the drugs," notes Prof. Shlomo Maayan. "Interestingly, fewer patients reported adverse effects of COVID-19 during the 4-week follow-up period." These preliminary findings show that the drug can also alleviate the symptoms of the disease experienced by patients who survive the severe phase of COVID-19.
The researchers emphasized that although the results were extremely promising, only placebo-controlled studies can serve as a basis for clinical decisions. "We have entered the second phase of the study and we are actively recruiting patients," said Prof. Nachmias, noting that two placebo-controlled studies are already taking place these days in South America, the United States and Israel.
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Please direct all criticisms about the corona to the virus, it changes, and you can't use tactics from a year ago against it.
It is not a medicine for prevention but for treatment, it removes fats after their formation and after the disease is in an advanced state and thus it blocks the development of the virus. For prevention, it is possible to take statins such as atorvastatin or rosuvastatin (Lipitor or Crestor respectively), which prevent the formation of fats in advance, and indeed this has been tested in various community settings that almost everyone who took statins in an amount that balanced their cholesterol level completely, did not get corona, or at least not at a severe level , including elderly people, (everyone can check this in their immediate environment, and certainly family doctors can check this in their patient records) It is true that the drug has not been approved for this purpose, but since the drug is given to millions of people to prevent cholesterol (in our tiny country over a million people) the family doctors They are allowed and can and perhaps must give it to corona patients at the beginning of their illness in a sufficient dose to prevent worsening of the corona, what's more, usually within a week or so less than that the patient recovers, and there is no need to continue with the medicine. (but apparently there is no point in giving them for prevention, this is somewhat similar to taking painkillers to prevent it in a healthy person) so even those who fear possible side effects of statins know that they only appear after a long period of time.
What is the percentage of children who got sick with corona and developed antibodies naturally after repeated infection with corona? In my opinion, because we don't talk about it: zero children get infected. We don't talk about it because we are now in the first stage of a classic Bolshevik world revolution, with modern means: we sang it in the kibbutz of Hashomer Hatzair... Old world destroyed, wonderful new world built! Still, looking forward to your reply.
I suggest giving the medicine to all people in the world for prevention. It is possible to recommend to vaccine opponents to take the medicine for prevention. The medicine must be given to small children, who are not yet approved to give them a vaccine. I call on all family doctors in Israel to contact their patients and give them a permanent prescription for the drug. This medicine saves lives from the corona, and also reduces lipids in the blood, the profit is twofold.