Q: Which doctor treats Cytokine Storm?
A: Usually a doctor with expertise in Infectious Diseases or if they are not available a critical care intensive care doctors or a general physician.
Q: Where do cytokines exist in the body?
A: Cytokines are chemical signaling molecules, and so, they are produced as per the requirements of our bodies. Many different kinds of immune cells make them, and they act either on the cells that produce them or tend to move towards the cells on which they should act.
Q: Are cytokines used as therapeutic agents?
A: Yes, some cytokines have been demonstrated as good therapeutic agents for many diseases. The rationale behind this is that an optimal restoration of cytokine balance by blocking the inflammatory cytokines and inducing the anti-inflammatory ones can be relevant to cure certain hard-to-treat diseases successfully.
Q: What are some cytokines used to treat diseases?
A:
- Interleukin-2 is used to treat advanced kidney cancer and skin cancers.
- Interferon-alpha is also used in the treatment of stage-III skin cancer.
- A kind of Colony-stimulating factor called Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor is used to alleviate the harmful effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy among cancer patients.
Q: Do all covid patients get cytokine storm?
A: No, all the covid patients are not susceptible to cytokine storms. As per the current records, only people whose immune system produces an aggravated immune response are at the risk of developing cytokine storm.
Q: Can any medications cure cytokine storms?
A: Emapalumab, a drug that suppresses the action of interferon-gamma, has already been approved for people who are genetically predisposed to a cytokine storm. In addition to this, certain drugs originally designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis, such as anakinra and tocilizumab, also demonstrated promising efficacy in taming the dangerous cytokine storms.
