Drugs for Osteoporosis Down the Incidence of COVID-19

Antiosteoporotic treatments and duloxetine administered to primary care patients are safe against infection by COVID-19 and could even reduce its incidence.

Denosumab, zoledronate and calcium used for osteoporosis could protect against COVID-19, specifically a 30 to 40% reduction in the rate of infection, according to the researchers of the the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Pompeu Fabra University and the Pere Virgili Health Park, published in the journal Aging.

Dr. Jordi Monfort, explains that "there are indications to allow hypothesizing that certain drugs used to treat rheumatic diseases could interfere positively in the natural history of COVID-19, either by decreasing its incidence or by decreasing its progression to more serious cases".

‘Antiosteoporotic drugs are safe and should continued to be administered to patients who need them.’
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The study analyzed data from 2,000 patients suffering from osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia.

Researchers worked jointly with the UPF Neuropharmacology Laboratory research group, the Hospital del Mar-IMIM Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience research group, and physicians at the Vila Olímpica primary healthcare centre (CAP).

They studied the various drugs and the evolution of rheumatology patients with non-inflammatory diseases and their relation to infection by SARS-CoV-2, etc.

Coronavirus
Coronaviruses infect animals, humans, and birds. Human coronaviruses, such as SARS, MERS, and 2019-nCoV cause respiratory distress and even death. The S protein is the infectious agent of the virus.

Different activation mechanisms

"The study suggests that some of the osteoporosis treatments may protect patients against infection by COVID-19, although further studies still need to be conducted on more patients to prove it", he states.

Denosumab targets the RANK/RANKL system involved in the balance of the skeletal system, and also the response by the immune system through the activation and differentiation of some of its cells. Its inhibition modifies the inflammatory response and acts on cytokines. Zoledronate can also modulate the immune response.

Duloxetine may also have a positive effect in decreasing the incidence of COVID-19. But, pregabalin, seems to increase the incidence of COVID-19.

In view of these findings, Dr. Rafael Maldonado, study reference author and coordinator of the UPF Neuropharmacology Laboratory research group, suggests that "these antiosteoporotic drugs are safe and should continue to be administered to patients who take them. The promising results obtained with duloxetine are significant", while at the same time, "we conduct further studies to verify its possible beneficial effects on COVID-19" .

In the same vein, Dr. Alba Gurt, a physician at the Vila Olímpica CAP of the Pere Virgili Health Park and co-author of the work, points out that "the data from the study would indicate that the antiosteoporotic treatments and duloxetine administered to our primary care patients are safe against infection by COVID-19 and could even reduce its incidence. However, studies with a higher number of patients are required to verify this" .

Source-Medindia