Post by sagobob on Jul 21, 2020 15:42:22 GMT -8
From a publication called "LIVESCIENCE". (formatting of may in bold face type mine)
"— A treatment from UK-based biotech Synairgen may reduce the number of COVID-19 patients that need intensive care, according to preliminary results from a clinical trial that haven't yet been published or peer-reviewed. The treatment, which is inhaled, is a formulation of a protein called interferon beta which the body produces to warn the body of a virus, but which the coronavirus seems to suppress, according to the BBC. It is usually used as a treatment for multiple sclerosis.
Initial findings, conducted on 101 volunteers (half given the drug, half given a placebo) admitted to nine UK hospitals, suggest that the treatment reduced the risk of a hospitalized COVID-19 patient from developing severe disease, such as disease requiring ventilation, by 79%, the BBC reported. The company claimed that patients were twice or three times as likely to recover to a point where their everyday activities wouldn't be affected by the illness, according to the BBC. They also claimed that the trial showed "very significant" reductions in breathlessness among patients and reduced the average number of days a person spent at the hospital.
However, these results have not yet been reviewed. 'These results are not interpretable. We need the full details and, perhaps more importantly, the trial protocol. The trial should have been registered and a protocol made available before any analysis was undertaken,' Steve Goodacre, professor at The University of Sheffield told the BBC.
Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow agreed that it would be important for the results to be presented and peer-reviewed. 'The results seem very impressive, and although accepted that the trial is small with just over 100 participants, a 79% reduction in disease severity could be a game changer," he told the BBC'."
"— A treatment from UK-based biotech Synairgen may reduce the number of COVID-19 patients that need intensive care, according to preliminary results from a clinical trial that haven't yet been published or peer-reviewed. The treatment, which is inhaled, is a formulation of a protein called interferon beta which the body produces to warn the body of a virus, but which the coronavirus seems to suppress, according to the BBC. It is usually used as a treatment for multiple sclerosis.
Initial findings, conducted on 101 volunteers (half given the drug, half given a placebo) admitted to nine UK hospitals, suggest that the treatment reduced the risk of a hospitalized COVID-19 patient from developing severe disease, such as disease requiring ventilation, by 79%, the BBC reported. The company claimed that patients were twice or three times as likely to recover to a point where their everyday activities wouldn't be affected by the illness, according to the BBC. They also claimed that the trial showed "very significant" reductions in breathlessness among patients and reduced the average number of days a person spent at the hospital.
However, these results have not yet been reviewed. 'These results are not interpretable. We need the full details and, perhaps more importantly, the trial protocol. The trial should have been registered and a protocol made available before any analysis was undertaken,' Steve Goodacre, professor at The University of Sheffield told the BBC.
Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow agreed that it would be important for the results to be presented and peer-reviewed. 'The results seem very impressive, and although accepted that the trial is small with just over 100 participants, a 79% reduction in disease severity could be a game changer," he told the BBC'."
