Examination of aspirin pills may help protect against coronavirus infection, a study suggests.
The common, cheap and safe drug is often prescribed to prevent heart disease and stroke as well as regular over-the-counter pain relief.
Data from more than 10,000 people tested for Covid between February and June 2020 showed that one tablet of aspirin (75mg) per day resulted in a 29 percent lower risk for catching the virus.
It is not yet known how aspirin may prevent coronavirus infection but the authors believe that its antiviral properties stem from the ability to alter how the immune system responds to the infection. phataig.
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Aspirin is a common, cheap and safe drug that is often prescribed to prevent heart disease and stroke as well as regular over-the-counter pain relief. It may help protect against coronavirus infections
Findings from the study, conducted by Israeli researchers at Leumit Health Services, Bar-Ilan University and Barzilai Medical Center, were published last month in the FEBS Journal.
‘This observation of the potential beneficial effect of low doses of aspirin on COVID-19 disease is predictable but very promising,’ says the study’s lead director, Dr Eli Magen from the Center Barzilai Medical.
Patient data from a database were analyzed and the proportion of people on aspirin was lower among people with COVID-19 than those who tested negative.
Seventy-three people who tested positive were taking aspirin, making up one in nine of the positive cases.
However, 16 percent of people (about one in six) who tested negative took aspirin.
The reduction in risk from one to another is more than a quarter (29 per cent).
On average, people taking aspirin were 14 years older; they were obese but not obese, unlike the non-aspirin group; and more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure and COPD.
The researchers also found that while people on aspirin are less likely to catch a coronavirus, they also recover more quickly if they catch the virus.
The average time between a patient’s first positive test and their second negative test drops from 21.9 days to 19.8 days when using aspirin daily.
‘A large, nationwide study showed that aspirin use is associated with a lower likelihood of a positive COVID-19 test result,’ the researchers write.
It is not yet known how aspirin may prevent coronavirus infection but the authors believe that its antiviral properties stem from the ability to alter how the immune system responds to the infection. phataig.
When the body detects a viral infection it produces interferon I (IFM) which controls the cellular response to the invader.
However, RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2, which cause Covid-19, escape IFN bypass.
The virus does this by causing the body to make more of a chemical called prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) which inhibits IFN as well as causing the destruction of some white blood cells.
‘Because low-dose aspirin inhibits PGE2 biosynthesis, this mechanism may promote antiviral immunity through induction of type I INF,’ the researchers write.
They add that their conclusions are ‘initial, but interesting’ and call for further research into its potential.
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One study that is already doing just this is the RECOVERY exam, a worldwide project led by Oxford University.
It is the largest and most comprehensive study examining which drugs are beneficial for Covid-19 hospitalized patients in the world.
It showed the steroid dexamethasone and the arthritis drugs tocilizumab and sarilumab to be effective in helping treat Covid-19.
Dexamethasone is a £ 5 drug that reduces the risk of death by up to 35 percent on its own.
However, further research found that people who did not receive dexamethasone still had a 35.8 per cent mortality rate but this fell to just 25.3 per cent when they received a single dose of tocilizumab or sarilumab which costs around £ 1,000 per treatment.
All three are now approved for use on the NHS.
Other drugs and medications were studied and subsequently removed by RECOVERY, including the anti-gout drug colchicine and the arthritis drug azithromycin.
The only drugs currently under review are RECOVERY: Regeneron antibody cocktail; aspirin; Baricitinib arthritis drug; and Dimethyl fumarate, an immunomodulatory drug used in psoriasis and multiple sclerosis.
Trials are underway at nearly 200 sites worldwide, involving nearly 40,00 participants. Aspirin arm results are not expected for several weeks.