In the absence of vaccines or antiviral drugs, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore say the key to slowing and treating the coronavirus might be hidden in the blood of those whove already recovered from the disease.
The method of using convalescent serum essentially harvesting virus-fighting antibodies from the blood of previously infected patients dates back more than a century, but has not been used widely in the United States in decades.
During the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, scientists reported that transfusions of blood products obtained from survivors led to a 50 percent drop in deaths among severely ill patients. A similar strategy was used to treat and slow the spread of polio and measles outbreaks decades ago, but the technique fell out of favor in the 1950s with the innovation of modern vaccine science and antiviral drugs, said Dr. Arturo Casadevall, chair of the molecular microbiology and immunology department at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
When Casadevall learned in December that a new coronavirus was spreading rapidly in China, he started telling colleagues that it might be time to revive the antiquated treatment.
Im an infectious disease doctor who is interested in history, Casadevall said. I knew the history of what was done in the early 20th century with epidemics. They didnt have vaccines then, they didnt have any drugs then just like the situation we face now. But physicians then knew that, for certain conditions, you could take the blood of the immune and use it to prevent disease or treat those who became ill.
In a paper published Friday in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Casadevall and a colleague, Dr. Liise-anne Pirofski, argued that collecting blood serum or plasma from previously infected people might be the best hope for treating severe cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, at least until a better treatment can be developed.
Theres some evidence from recent history that suggests the approach could work.
In 2003, doctors in China used plasma from recovered patients to treat 80 people suffering from the viral disease known as severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS an earlier coronavirus and found that the treatments were associated with improved outcomes and shorter hospital stays. In 2014, the World Health Organization published guidelines for using donated plasma to treat people infected with Ebola after the treatments showed promise.
Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
In an interview with Stat News last month, a top Food and Drug Administration official said convalescent plasma might be helpful in the fight against the new coronavirus. Although the treatment is not a cure, Casadevall says it might be an important stopgap.
Researchers in the U.S. and across the globe have been scrambling to develop drugs for the coronavirus, but federal officials say those treatments are likely months or in the case of a vaccine more than a year away. That leaves hospitals with few options other than ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients suffering from respiratory failure, stoking concerns nationally that a surge of severely ill patients in the coming weeks could overwhelm emergency rooms and intensive care units.
The approach definitely has merit, and whats remarkable about it is its not a new idea; its been with us for a good hundred years or longer, said Dr. Jeffrey Henderson, an assistant professor of medicine and molecular microbiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. I think we dont know until we have experience and case reports with this particular disease whether it will be effective, but just based on its track record with a number of other viruses, I think it has a very good chance of working.
Henderson said part of what makes the treatment attractive is its simplicity. Although there is danger in giving a patient the wrong type of blood, safety advancements over the past two decades have made adverse outcomes rare. And hospitals have the tools needed to begin harvesting and transfusing patients with blood serum right away, he said.
The Johns Hopkins team is planning to submit its plan for approval by the FDA, but Casadevall said they dont anticipate problems since the method has been used in the past and relies on standard blood-banking technology. He hopes to begin collecting serum from recovered patients within four to six weeks.
Patients tend to make large numbers of antibodies against an infecting pathogen, and these antibodies often circulate in the blood of survivors for months or years afterward. By collecting and transfusing a survivors serum or plasma the liquid portion of blood left once cells and platelets have been removed doctors could potentially boost an ailing patient's immune response, Casadevall said.
Doctors in China have begun treating COVID-19 patients with plasma harvested from survivors and have reported somewhat positive results, especially when the method is applied early in the disease, though it has not been tested widely.
The usage of plasma will probably reduce the time needed to treat the disease from five to 10 days to three to five days, said Dr. Zhang Wenhong, the leader of a medical team sent from Shanghai to Wuhan to help tackle the outbreak, in an interview with Al-Jazeera last week.
Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
Casadevall argues that convalescent serum could also be given to front-line health care workers to help protect them from becoming ill.
To implement his plan, academic hospitals would need to work collaboratively with blood banks to set up research protocols and treatment guidelines. Doctors at Johns Hopkins started that work weeks ago, Casadevall said, and they have begun drafting guidelines that can be copied by hospitals across the country.
Hes already been in touch with doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, he said.
At the local level, hospitals and blood banks have everything they need to do this, Casadevall said. But what would really help is coordination from the federal government.
First, Casadevall said, the U.S. must immediately begin widespread testing, because its impossible to collect blood serum from survivors if public health officials dont know whos been infected. Second, Casadevall said federal officials may need to oversee the interstate shipment of blood products. He can imagine a scenario where blood banks in Seattle, which has been at the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak for weeks, might be in a position to send excess blood products to other cities where outbreaks are still ramping up.
And finally, Casadevall said, government officials would need to help spread the word. He believes people whove had the coronavirus and recovered will be eager to donate plasma if they believe it could help elderly patients and health care workers.
This is by no means a panacea, Casadevall said. But at a time when the message has been, Theres nothing you can do but wash your hands, this is an opportunity to do something proactive that can help fight this.
Read the original:
Doctors push for treatment of coronavirus with blood from recovered patients - NBCNews.com
- Living with Lupus: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapy for Lupus [Last Updated On: September 24th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 24th, 2011]
- Unlocking the Secrets of Blod Cell Therapy - Video [Last Updated On: October 14th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 14th, 2011]
- Alzheimers Neurons Created from Pluripotent Stem Cells [Last Updated On: January 28th, 2012] [Originally Added On: January 28th, 2012]
- Verastem to Present at Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference Symposium “Targeting Cancer Stem Cells in Oncology” [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2012] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2012]
- Plethora of New Products to be Showcased at 2012 Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2012] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2012]
- Leukaemia cells have a remembrance of things past [Last Updated On: April 26th, 2012] [Originally Added On: April 26th, 2012]
- Science Translational Medicine and the DMM Global Foundation Announce Days of Molecular Medicine 2012 "The ... [Last Updated On: July 13th, 2012] [Originally Added On: July 13th, 2012]
- Common RNA pathway found in ALS and dementia [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2012]
- Culprits behind ALS and dementia share common pathway [Last Updated On: October 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 2nd, 2012]
- 22 Molecular Medicine—Cloning and Stem Cells - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Stem Cells and the Future of Medicine - Larry Goldstein, Ph.D. at TEDxAmericasFinestCity - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Program in Molecular Medicine - UMass Medical School ... [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2016]
- Molecular medicine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2016]
- Department of Molecular Medicine - College of Veterinary ... [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2016]
- Molecular Medicine - Graduate School of Biomedical ... [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2016]
- Home - Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2016]
- Molecular Medicine - Wake Forest Baptist Health [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2016]
- Cellular and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2016]
- International Masters Program Molecular Medicine ... [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2016]
- LSUHSC School of Medicine - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology [Last Updated On: November 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 20th, 2016]
- Molecular Medicine | Molecular Medicine Reports ... [Last Updated On: November 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 20th, 2016]
- Precision medicine opens the door to scientific wellness preventive approaches to suicide - Medical Xpress [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- New Hampshire biologist reacts to gene-editing discovery - The Union Leader [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- The Human Heart May Have a Natural 'Backup Battery' - Healthline [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- Georgia colleges gear up for new semester - AJC.com - Atlanta Journal Constitution [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- Change in protein production essential to muscle function - Baylor College of Medicine News (press release) [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- Clinical trial uses a genetically engineered virus to fight cancer - Medical Xpress [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- A New Gene Editing Technique Could Finally Allow Us to Treat ALS - Futurism [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- New Version of CRISPR Corrects RNA Defects Linked to ... - Technology Networks [Last Updated On: August 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 16th, 2017]
- Circular RNA Linked to Brain Function - Technology Networks [Last Updated On: August 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 16th, 2017]
- Yenepoya University to offer biotech skill enhancement programme - Hindu Business Line [Last Updated On: August 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 16th, 2017]
- Spotlight Innovation Enters into Sponsored Research Agreement with Indiana University to Develop New Therapies for ... - PR Newswire (press release) [Last Updated On: August 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 16th, 2017]
- Using barcodes to trace cell development - Medical Xpress [Last Updated On: August 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 16th, 2017]
- What can genetic testing really tell you? - Popular Science [Last Updated On: August 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 17th, 2017]
- Cancer Treatment Centers of America and Foundation Medicine Join Forces to Advance Precision Cancer Treatment - Markets Insider [Last Updated On: August 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 17th, 2017]
- A New Method of 3D Printing Living Tissues - Technology Networks [Last Updated On: August 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 17th, 2017]
- Spotlight Innovation Enters into Sponsored Research Agreement with Indiana University to Develop New Therapies for ... - Markets Insider [Last Updated On: August 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 17th, 2017]
- MS in Molecular Medicine - Drexel University College of ... [Last Updated On: August 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 17th, 2017]
- Master of Science (MSc) in Molecular Medicine - NTNU [Last Updated On: August 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 17th, 2017]
- Molecular Medicine Research - Wake Forest School of Medicine [Last Updated On: August 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 17th, 2017]
- New method for the 3D printing of living tissues - Scientist Live [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2017]
- Bio-inspired Materials Give Boost to Regenerative Medicine - Bioscience Technology [Last Updated On: August 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 22nd, 2017]
- MSU Expanding Medical Research In Grand Rapids | WKAR - WKAR [Last Updated On: August 30th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 30th, 2017]
- Stabilizing TREM2 a potential strategy to combat Alzheimer's disease - Medical Xpress [Last Updated On: August 30th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 30th, 2017]
- TCI woman fell 31 floors, due to work in molecular medicine in Malaysia - Magnetic Media (press release) [Last Updated On: August 30th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 30th, 2017]
- Molecular Medicine | University of Maryland School of Medicine [Last Updated On: August 30th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 30th, 2017]
- Reconstructing life at its beginning, cell by cell - Phys.Org [Last Updated On: August 31st, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 31st, 2017]
- Dr. Pawel Muranski to Head New Cellular Immunotherapy Laboratory at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University ... - Newswise (press release) [Last Updated On: August 31st, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 31st, 2017]
- Hofstra and Northwell rename medical school following $61 million donation - The Island Now [Last Updated On: August 31st, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 31st, 2017]
- TREM2 Cleavage Site Pinpointed: A Gateway to New Therapies? - Alzforum [Last Updated On: August 31st, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 31st, 2017]
- The Secret Ingredient That Stops Honeybees From Becoming Queens - New York Times [Last Updated On: August 31st, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 31st, 2017]
- What happened to precision medicine? - Phoenix Business Journal [Last Updated On: September 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: September 4th, 2017]
- Fetal genes can increase the risk of illness during pregnancy - Medical Xpress [Last Updated On: September 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: September 4th, 2017]
- Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2017]
- For Authors - Molecular Medicine [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2017]
- Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2017]
- Nuclear Medicine - Molecular Imaging - Nuclear Medicine ... [Last Updated On: August 3rd, 2018] [Originally Added On: August 3rd, 2018]
- Proteomics Conferences 2018 | Molecular Medicine Congress ... [Last Updated On: August 21st, 2018] [Originally Added On: August 21st, 2018]
- Section of Molecular Medicine | Wake Forest School of Medicine [Last Updated On: November 9th, 2018] [Originally Added On: November 9th, 2018]
- Faculty Research - Department of Molecular Medicine ... [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2019] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2019]
- Goethe-Universitt Molecular Medicine (Master of Science) [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2019] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2019]
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Miller School of ... [Last Updated On: March 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: March 30th, 2019]
- Molecular Medicine Research - Mayo Clinic Research [Last Updated On: April 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: April 27th, 2019]
- Molecular Medicine (MolMed) | Duke School of Medicine [Last Updated On: April 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: April 27th, 2019]
- Molecular Medicine | Molecular, Cellular and Developmental ... [Last Updated On: April 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: April 27th, 2019]
- Home | EMBO Molecular Medicine [Last Updated On: May 5th, 2019] [Originally Added On: May 5th, 2019]
- Molecular Medicine (formerly Molecular & Cellular Biology) [Last Updated On: June 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: June 3rd, 2019]
- The world's first psilocybin research center is opening in Jamaica - Big Think [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- Synthetic networks with tunable responsiveness, biodegradation, and molecular recognition for precision medicine applications - Science Advances [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- No place for racism: an open letter from University of Auckland staff - The Spinoff [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- XIST-Promoter Demethylation as Tissue Biomarker for Testicular Germ Cell Tumors and Spermatogenesis Quality - Beyond the Abstract - UroToday [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- Tulane researcher is editor of journal issue honoring 40th anniversary of key cancer discovery - News from Tulane [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- New insights into heart's healing capacity - Baylor College of Medicine News [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- Giving a Speed Boost to Nerve Regrowth - Technology Networks [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- Exploring the stress-mood-appetite connection - Baylor College of Medicine News [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- What's in the cards for this year's Nobel Prizes? - STAT [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- Treatment for Incurable Breast Cancer, Melanoma Improved by Adding Local Anesthetics - Newswise [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- DNA Nanomachines Are Opening Medicine to the World of Physics - Singularity Hub [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2019]
- Institute of Human Virology Hosts 21st Annual International Meeting of Top Scientists on Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in America and the Intersection... [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2019]
- Digital Biopsies: Radiomics and Pathomics Are Important Stops on the Path to Precision Medicine - Cancer Therapy Advisor [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2019] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2019]