Low-cost Blood-thinning Drug may Treat COVID-19 Infections

Blood-thinning drug Heparin limits lung damage can also prevent COVID-19 infection when it is inhaled, a recent study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology has shown. Heparin is normally administered to treat and prevent blood clots. But inhaled heparin has antiviral properties which work by binding to the spike proteins the coronavirus uses to enter the cells of the body.

“It effectively stops the virus infecting cells in the lungs and could also stop people from getting the virus from others," suggested co-author Professor Clive Page, from King's College London, who is co-leading the global studies.

The drug also can calm everything down when the body is mounting an exaggerated response to the virus.

In the case of COVID-19, this property reduces lung damage caused by inflammation and the immune response. When inhaled, heparin also shows promise as a preventative and could be used to boost vaccination efforts.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 symptoms scale, breathing and oxygen levels improved in 70% of the patients after they inhaled a course of heparin, and their symptoms improved.

Most experts agree that vaccination alone is not going to stop the pandemic. This drug which is widely available in hospitals could assist in poorer countries where vaccination is challenging and it could also help the front-line workers who could use it as a preventative measure.

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Researchers are now collecting more evidence that inhaled heparin works as a treatment and prevention for COVID-19. Once this evidence is available, heparin via inhalation could be an option to treat COVID-19 patients, everywhere, within months.

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Source-Medindia