Doctors get important clues related to the treatment of Covid-19. Doctors in the UK have started a clinical trial that may help critically ill patients with Covid-19. Doctors have found that Covid-19 reduces the number of immune cells (immune cells or T-cells) in critically ill people.
T-cells are responsible for throwing the disease out of the body.
This clinical trial will include scientists from the Francis Crick Institute at King’s College London and the Gaez & St Thomas Hospital, who will try to find out if a drug called interleukin 7 helps to increase T-cell numbers in Covid-19 patients. Interleukin 7 is commonly used to increase T-cell numbers in patients struggling with other diseases.
Immune system
The doctors involved in the trial conducted a detailed examination of the blood samples of 60 patients of Covid-19 and found that the number of T-cells in them is very low. Professor Adrian Hede of the Crick Institute says that the way the coronavirus damages the immune system is “shocking” in itself.
He says, “We believe that the immune system of our body fights against disease. But the coronavirus in a way pulls the ground under the feet of the immune system. It starts destroying the T-cell.”
There are usually between 2,000 and 4,000 T-cells in one microliter of blood from a healthy adult person. They are also called T-lymphocytes.
But doctors found in the test that the number of these T-cells in Covid-19 patients was between 200 and 1,200.
‘Encouraging’ effort
Doctors say that after this new information, now a ‘special test’ can be made for the number of T-cells in the blood of coronavirus patients so that in time it will be known which patients can take the disease and serious forms.
Also, to increase the number of decreasing T-cell, doctors will have the possibility of treatment.
Manu Shakander-Hari, a Critical Care Consultant at Gaze & St. Thomas Hospital, says that about 70% of patients undergoing intensive care have 400 to 800 T-cells per microliter of blood.
He says, “As they begin to recover, the number of T-cells in their blood also starts increasing.”
Interleukin 7 has been tested on a small group of patients with sepsis. In these patients, this drug has proved successful in increasing the T-cell count.
What is this clinical trial?
In this clinical trial, this drug will be given to patients with low lymphocyte count who will be in critical care for more than three days.
Shankar Hari says, “We are hoping that as the number of T-cells in the body increases, the infection will also end.”
He says, “As a Critical Care Physician, I take care of patients who are seriously ill despite supportive help. We do not yet have a cure for the disease. So, all UK Critical Care Physicians So this clinical trial is encouraging. “
This research also shows how the coronavirus destroys the immune system in people struggling with Covid-19. Professor Adrian Hede says that this information can prove to be important for doctors all over the world.
He says, “This virus has completely changed the world and has created emergency situations in all countries. It is a different type of virus. But till now we do not know how the virus T-cell destroys. Actually this virus is quite different and we are hoping that this research will find out how this virus affects the body.”
