This popular drug, used most frequently in anti-alcohol therapy for over 70 years, can protect against COVID-19 lung damage. This is the result of the latest research published in the Journal of Experimental Meidcine.

A team of scientists from Weill Cornell Medicine and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the United States has come to a new understanding of the drug containing disulfiram. For over 70 years, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved this preparation for use in the treatment of alcoholism. Recent studies show that the drug may protect against immune-mediated lung damage.

Acute Transfusion Lung Injury and COVID-19 - Do They Have Anything In It?

Two studies have been carried out on animals: those infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and those with a syndrome of pulmonary insufficiency called TRALI (the so-called acute transfusion lung injury) following transfusion of blood products. Diseases are characterized by an extensive invasion of neutrophils in the lungs and often increase mortality from severe lung damage.

As the researchers explained, these two types of lung damage are partially driven by immune cells that create network-like structures. They are referred to as extracellular neutrophilic networks, abbreviated as: NETs. They have the ability to trap and kill pathogens, but they can also be harmful to your own lung tissue and blood vessels, causing fluid to build up in the lungs (edema) and promoting the formation of blood clots. According to the latest research, it appears that a drug containing disulfiram may block one of the stages of NET formation.

Research involving laboratory animals

Scientists have been carrying out analyzes on this preparation for some time. Previous analyzes suggest that disulfiram can inhibit (partially) the inflammatory process that leads to the formation of NETs. This research conclusion prompted the researchers to conduct further tests.

One of the authors of the study, Dr. Mikala Egeblad, explained that NETs normally damage tissues, but after using disulfiram, the activity of gasdermin D, a molecule needed for their production, is disrupted. - After treatment with this agent, no networks are formed and the situation is resolved - she added.

Research resultsLaboratory studies show that disulfiram can significantly block the production of NETs by human and murine neutrophils. Treatment with this preparation in the mouse TRALI model the day before and three hours before induction of the syndrome was effective in 95% of patients. animals. According to the researchers, this known drug apparently has the ability to inhibit the production of NETs and thus blocked the process of further damage to lung tissue and vessels. This means that its action allowed for a relatively quick stabilization of lung function and regeneration after the initial injury.

Does the preparation have the potential to treat COVID-19?

The preparation has also been tested on Syrian hamsters to see if it can cope with COVID-19. As it turned out, the administration of the drug the day before or the day after infection with SARS-CoV-2 brought surprising results. In animals with less produced NETs, ​​less severity of fibrosis in lung tissue and changes in gene activity were observed, indicating a significant reduction in harmful inflammatory response without compromising antiviral immunity.

Scientists compared the effects of the drug disulfiram and the drug containing dexamethasone in the treatment of COVID-19. The analysis showed that the latter formulation protected lung tissue to a lesser extent from disease-related changes and led to higher levels of SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs.

These scientific findings were referred to by Dr. Robert Schwartz, stating that "the strong inhibitory effect of disulfiram on the formation of NETs and the marked improvement in treatment outcomes in various rodent models emphasize the potential of this preparation in the treatment of diseases causing lung damage, such as COVID- 19 ".

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COVID 19