COVID-19 disease has been disrupting our lives in recent months, but despite all the scientific research has not stopped.
Dr. D’Alessio, head of the Operating Unit of Internal Medicine and Oncology at the Policlinico San Marco di Zingonia and member of the technical-scientific committee of our ARTET Foundation, recently published an article in the prestigious international journal Leukemia concerning new therapeutic approach for patients with severe SARS-CoV2 pneumonia.
In fact, the researchers hypothesized that the excessive inflammation, typical of this disease, could be controlled by ruxolitinib, a drug already used for other diseases that is able to inhibit a protein called JAK which is linked to inflammation receptors. For this reason, a clinical study was designed to evaluate the effects of ruxolitinib, associated with low doses of cortisone, in 75 patients with COVID-19, hospitalized between March and April 2020, during the first wave, at the Hospital of Zingonia. . The results show that the percentage of patients who are alive, clinically cured and with reduced inflammatory indices is significantly higher in the group treated with ruxolitinib than in patients not treated with this drug.
It can therefore be concluded that, through an early and targeted treatment given by the combination of ruxolitinib and low doses of cortisone, a reduction in the excessive immune response can prevent the progression of lung damage, avoiding complications such as intubation, and increase survival in patients with severe SARS-CoV2 pneumonia.