Study Suggests Existing Arthritis Drugs Can Halt Lung Problems Brought On by COVID

New research suggests that arthritis drugs already available for prescription “have the potential to halt lingering lung problems that can last months or years after COVID-19 infections.” UVA's website has the release.

Existing drugs such as baricitinib and anakinra can perhaps “disrupt the malfunctioning immune response” that cause ongoing lung issues in people who have recovered from COVID-19, which would allow the lungs to heal. Jie Sun, one of the researchers, says that they identified “the molecules responsible for this issue and potential therapeutic options for patients with ongoing lung damage.” These findings could prove beneficial for “lung fibrosis stemming from other sources [than COVID-19] as well.”

The researchers examined “severely damaged lungs from transplant patients at both UVA and Cedars-Sinai,” hoping that those lungs would “provide vital clues as to why the patients suffered such severe lung damage and persistent fibrosis.” They found that “immune cells known as CD8+ T cells were having faulty interactions with another type of immune cell, macrophages. These interactions were causing the macrophages to drive damaging inflammation even after the initial COVID-19 infection had resolved, when the immune system would normally stand down.”

This harmful cycle of inflammation, according to the research, could be broken using drugs like baricitinib and anakinra. More study is needed, but the researchers hope their findings will “eventually offer patients with persistent post-COVID lung problems much-needed treatment options.”