Nicotine patches could treat virus, say experts
LEADING Welsh doctors claim nicotine patches could offer hope of a possible treatment for coronavirus.
Jonathan Davies, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Llantrisant, said the “powerful” drug has the potential to block the virus from entering cells.
The research, which was created with two of his colleagues, was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and has received recognition from leading physicians in Wales.
The treatment option is now being looked at by scientists in France who carried out a study involving nearly 500 hospital patients in Paris.
They concluded those who already smoked were becoming less infected with Covid-19 than other people.
The team are now planning trials to establish whether or not the use of nicotine patches could protect individuals from the infection.
“The idea behind the French research is that Covid-19 is understood to attach itself to the walls of cell receptors [known as ACE 2 receptors] in the upper airways,” he explained.
“The virus then acts like a key to unlock the cell, allowing it to enter it and then use its infrastructure to multiply.
“While nicotine is also able to attach itself to these receptors and act as a key to unlock the cell, it doesn’t actually enter.
“The French team postulate that instead, it acts as a barrier to the virus accessing the cell – as the key is already in the lock, so to speak.”
Mr Davies, along with his colleagues, Dr Nerys Conway, a consultant respiratory physician, and Dr Robert Davies, a consultant anaesthetist at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, were the first to suggest a possible role for the use of nicotine patches in the treatment of this disease in the BMJ on March 20.
The Sully resident, whose day-today work involves carrying out hip replacements, said that after discussion and research the group decided to report their hypothesis as a “fasttracked letter” to the journal.
“It was at a time when the pandemic was fast approaching the UK and we wanted to pass on our idea as quickly as possible,” he recalled.
“We wrote the first draft of our letter on a scrap of paper in the hospital canteen. It was submitted that day and was published via fast track the following day.”
Since then Mr Davies has passed on the idea to Professor Judith Hall and her team at the Department of Anaesthetics and Intensive Care at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, who are currently looking to research it further.
However, he stressed that he did not want people to start taking up smoking on the back of this theory.
The 55-year-old added: “In smokers, there is a dependence on nicotine, so that if a patient becomes ill with a Covid-19 infection the sudden withdrawal of the drug arising from sudden cessation of smoking might result in a so-called ‘cold turkey response’ which itself may exacerbate the illness,” he added.
Furthermore, he said there had been studies which had shown that giving nicotine supplements to mice might actually help in the treatment of acute inflammatory conditions of the lungs.
“A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that smokers may be less likely to catch coronavirus, but if they do there is plenty of evidence that they are likely to be more severely affected by it,” he said
“I would like to emphasise that the overwhelming evidence is that smokers should quit immediately, but they would probably be best to do that using nicotine patches to gradually reduce the nicotine levels in their bodies and so avoid the effects of sudden withdrawal which may, theoretically, exacerbate Covid infection if they caught it at that time.”
Following the research in France, the country’s health ministry has banned online sales of nicotine products and limited their sale in pharmacies.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: “Of course, we are looking at all available research from wellestablished and trusted sources.
“We have seen what can happen when odd theories are propounded on a stage like this one, with people ingesting or injecting disinfectant following what President Trump said.
“I certainly wouldn’t want people thinking that this means that either self-prescribing nicotine is somehow a protection against coronavirus, or that being a smoker protects you against Covid-19.”
He added: “The evidence is very clear that people with respiratory health conditions are one of the highest-risk categories if they do acquire coronavirus.
“We will look at every piece of valid research to improve our understanding and our ability to get through coronavirus into a post Covid-19 world.”
In response to the health minister’s comments, Mr Davies added: “I agree with much of what he said, but it does seem rather disingenuous to describe our own work here in Wales and the work of the French team as ‘odd’ and to compare it with the bizarre suggestions regarding the injection of disinfectants.
“But I understand that press conferences can put ministers on the spot, and it would seem likely that he has not actually had the chance read our letter in the BMJ or the reports from the French team last week.”
Mr Davies said it remained to be seen whether there could be any role for nicotine patch supplements in the treatment of Covid-19.
But he said he was proud that his group were the first to raise the possibility of it in the world’s medical literature.
“At present, the real focus is upon prevention of the disease with adherence to the uncomfortable lockdown,” he concluded.
“And for those of us unlucky enough to contract it, we rely upon the paramedics, nurses, anaesthetists and physicians who are at the forefront of the fight to save our lives and whose compassion and bravery I see daily.”