As researchers race to find treatments and eventually a safe vaccine for COVID-19, a new trial is underway and recruiting participants to test the effectiveness of a gout drug in reducing complications among coronavirus patients.
According to a recent Everyday Health report, colchicine is a prescription medication used to treat and prevent gout attacks by suppressing the body’s inflammatory reaction, which can lead to heart damage. A recent study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that patients who had suffered a heart attack had a significantly lower risk of a recurrent ischemic cardiovascular event when taking a low-dose of colchicine.
In some patients, the body’s immune response to COVID-19 and other bacterial and viral infections is ramped up, creating a “cytokine storm” in which a severe immune reaction can cause damage, especially to the heart. Researchers from the Montreal Heart Institute in Quebec and the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre in British Columbia are partnering with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine to enroll participants in the state hardest hit by COVID-19.
The trial plans to recruit 6,000 participants who will be followed for 30 days. To participate in the clinical trial, patients must have tested positive for COVID-19, be over 40, have at least one high-risk criteria, not be hospitalized, be willing to take the drug or a placebo and be willing to participate in two follow-up calls or video conferences. People over the age of 65 and those with underlying health conditions including diabetes and heart disease are a greater risk for serious complications from COVID_19 infection. Learn more here.
For an updated list of active COVID-19 trials in Canada follow this link to an updated clinical trial database. In the United States, find active COVID-19 clinical trials here.
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