At Cotugno Hospital in Naples, a team of doctors administered a drug for rheumatoid arthritis to a group of patients suffering from Coronavirus: the treatment proved effective in two cases.
Science takes the field against Coronavirus. Laboratories, research centres, universities and hospitals around the world are working to find solutions to cure or at least contain the disastrous effects of Covid-19. Migal researchers in Israel have announced that they are “close to creating a vaccine”. Good news also comes from Italy. In the same hours in which the government has extended the limitations of the “red zone” to the whole peninsula, an international team operating in Naples has gained a first “victory” against the virus. The doctors have started a new treatment based on Tocilizumab. It is a drug usually used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and in the treatment of cytochemical release syndrome after treatment with CAR-T cells. The drug was administered on Saturday to two patients admitted to Cotugno hospital with severe pneumonia from Covid-19. Already 24 hours after the infusion, encouraging improvements were noted, especially in one of the two patients who presented a particularly critical picture on his arrival at the hospital.
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Coronavirus: the drug tested in Naples bodes well
Tocilizumab had already been used in China to treat 21 patients suffering from Coronavirus. The trial started in Naples is the result of an international collaboration between the Azienda Ospedaliera dei Colli, the Cotugno Hospital, the Cancer Institute of Naples and some Chinese researchers. Among these, stands out the name of Wei Haiming Ming, a doctor at the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China who has been on the front line for weeks to fight the Coronavirus. The results achieved in Naples induce cautious optimism. The hope is that the trial will be effective on other Italian patients as well. “At a time like this – said the doctors Maurizio di Mauro and Attilio Bianchi – it is of fundamental importance to join the forces and experience of our best professionals to maximize the regional health system and to provide us with all the necessary tools to provide patients affected by Covid-19 with all the necessary care. We would like to thank all the staff of the hospital structures involved who, with speed and great preparation, have activated all the necessary procedures to guarantee patients every possible way along the therapeutic path”.
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