Research on Potential Vaccines and Treatments

[Aerides]

Fresh off the "press" ...

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/16/health/dexamethasone-covid-drug-recovery-trial-bn/index.html

except....

"Their findings are preliminary, still being compiled and have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal -- but some not involved with the study called the results a breakthrough."

 

[explanade]

We need some drugs which will can be taken orally, not intravenously.

Certainly we want therapies which will work for people with severe disease but they're also researching drugs which might help early in the disease, just after onset of symptoms, before even having to be hospitalized.

 

[easysurfer]

except....

"Their findings are preliminary, still being compiled and have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal -- but some not involved with the study called the results a breakthrough."

Agree about the word preliminary. But there is optimism. Here's another article on the same news ...

Researchers in England said they have the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival: A cheap, widely available steroid called dexamethasone reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients.
The results were announced Tuesday and the British government immediately authorized the drug's use across the United Kingdom for coronavirus patients like those who did well in the study. Researchers said they would publish results soon, and several independent experts said it's important to see details to know how much of a difference the drug, dexamethasone, might make and for whom.
But “bottom line is, good news,” said the United States’ top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. “This is a significant improvement in the available therapeutic options that we have.”
The study, led by the University of Oxford, was a large, strict test that randomly assigned 2,104 patients to get the drug and compared them with 4,321 patients getting only usual care.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...dexamethasone-reduce-covid-deaths/3197420001/

 

[sengsational]

Peter Attia Four Cases Slide

There's a good site that talks about the various vaccines and where they are in their development:

https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker

If you want a tutorial on how to interpret that site, you can watch this video by Dr. Roger Seheult (clinician of Covid-19 patients and producer of MedCram medical training videos):

In that video he highlights five vaccines to watch.

Peter Attia, another medical doctor and clinician, published a chart that I found interesting when trying to predict the various ways the pandemic could play-out. It's a two-by-two matrix with how long protective immunity lasts after disease or vaccination, and how effective the vaccine is. The best case is a vaccine that works great and lasts a lifetime (Case II). But we see cases III and IV, where we never get herd immunity.

Nobody knows which of these (or even some other variant) will happen, but it's interesting to think through these possibilities. To read Attia's comments on the slide, that's here: https://peterattiamd.com/covid-framework-how-does-this-thing-end/

 

[Jeffman52]

This news article talks about the issues you have AFTER you recover but also has testimony from people that have taken Leronlimab.

https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/heal...for-weeks-even-months/0rzLkWZWeXh0D2y3ezEqcN/

Reisman knew about a post-COVID trial for survivors of mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. Riley enrolled in the clinical trial for leronlimab, a drug that was originally developed to treat HIV, but is showing promise in the coronavirus fight. He had four injections in his stomach over two weeks.Riley said he immediately felt better. He returned to a faster pace, his blood pressure returned to normal and the other symptoms – the anxiety, the insomnia — faded.

Dr. Chris Recknor, a Gainesville internist who runs one of the six sites for the leronlimab clinical trial, is also a COVID-19 survivor.(snip)
His physician at the hospital obtained “compassionate use” permission from the Food and Drug Administration to prescribe leronlimab. Recknor said he felt better within two days after getting the medication and has fully recovered.“The only way I can explain it is, it was like it felt like I had 1,000 cups of coffee,” said Recknor. “And then after the medicine, it was like a relaxing time on the beach. A couple days after the medicine, I was back to doing everything normal.

 

[Sojourner]

Peter Attia, another medical doctor and clinician, published a chart that I found interesting when trying to predict the various ways the pandemic could play-out. It's a two-by-two matrix with how long protective immunity lasts after disease or vaccination, and how effective the vaccine is. The best case is a vaccine that works great and lasts a lifetime (Case II). But we see cases III and IV, where we never get herd immunity.

Nobody knows which of these (or even some other variant) will happen, but it's interesting to think through these possibilities. To read Attia's comments on the slide, that's here: https://peterattiamd.com/covid-framework-how-does-this-thing-end/

Great article by Peter Attia, thanks for sharing. His podcast, The Drive, is excellent, as well. Highly recommended for science-minded folks interested in longevity, health, and other related topics (like COVID-19).

 

[MichaelB]

Here are two new trackers from The NY Times which look well informed, useful and up to date.

Vaccine tracker https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html

Drugs and treatments tracker https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-drugs-treatments.html

 

[RAE]

For those interested, this is a pretty good article about how the "T cells" in your immune system may be key to understanding how your body defends against this coronavirus. There are also implications for vaccine development, because if T cells are key, then the most effective vaccine will be one that creates a T cell response, rather than just an antibody response. Antibodies tend to fade away relatively quickly, whereas T cells are usually much more durable.

It's also interesting that some people appear to have a strong T-cell response to SARS-COV-2, even though they have never been exposed to SARS-COV-2. One theory is that prior exposure to other coronaviruses (even some strains of the common cold virus) may help your immune system recognize and defend against SARS-COV-2, when it tries to attack your system.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200716-the-people-with-hidden-protection-from-covid-19

 

[JustVisitingThisPlanet]

The question isn't so much *can* we produce a vaccine in such a short time but *should* we release one so quickly. It takes many years of trials, partly to understand the side effects. I'm not an anti-vaxr but likely won't take a COVID vaccine for possibly a year or more later, after side effects are better known with a billion taking it before I do. And maybe for some, side effects may not show up for years later and the solution could become worse than the original problem.

I'm more interested in treatments, particularly treatments that involve tweaking existing approved drugs as the side effects are already known.