Scientists identify new drug with potential to mitigate severe Covid

Los Angeles, Sept. 20: Scientists have found that a new drug has the potential to prevent or mitigate severe consequences of Covid- 19, an advance that may lead to the development of novel therapeutics for the Coronavirus infection.

The researchers, including those from the University of California Los Angeles ( UCLA) in the United States, assessed how the drug 4Phenylbutiric acid ( 4PBA) modulates the inflammatory response produced in severe cases of Covid- 19 in animal models. According to the study, published in the journal Cytokine and Growth Factors Review, the inflammatory process identified in severe cases of Covid- 19 causes an uncontrolled and excessive release of cytokines — molecules in charge of organising the body’s defence.

The scientists said this excessive release could even trigger blood vessels to become hyper permeable and also lead to multiorgan failure. They added that controlling such a cytokine “storm” is essential to treating the severe forms of the disease.

“When cells are stressed by infection, they call the

cytokines, and the more stressed they are, the more persistent they become, provoking this uncontrolled inflammation. Hence, one possible treatment for Covid- 19 is to reduce cellular stress,” said study co- author Ivan Duran from the University of Malaga in Spain.

Duran said repurposing the 4- PBA anti- stress drug, approved for clinical use against other diseases could modulate such cellular stress, which is also present in pathologies like diabetes or aging, which are classified as Covid- 19 risk factors.