Cholesterol-lowering meds have potential to downgrade COVID-19's threat to that of the common cold

Medicalxpress ^ | JULY 15, 2020 | Hebrew University of Jerusalem

[absalom01]

Could a simple drug that has been on the market for decades be used to treat COVID-19? A research team led by Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU)'s Professor Yaakov Nahmias says that early research looks promising; their findings appear in this week's Cell Press Sneak Peak.

Over the last three months, Nahmias and Dr. Benjamin tenOever at New York's Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have focused on the ways in which the SARS-CoV-2 changes patients' lungs in order to reproduce itself. Their major finding? This virus prevents the routine burning of carbohydrates. As a result, large amounts of fat accumulate inside lung cells, a condition the virus needs in order to reproduce. This new understanding of SARS CoV-2 may help explain why patients with high blood sugar and cholesterol levels are often at a particularly high risk to develop COVID-19.

Viruses are parasites that lack the ability to replicate on their own, so they take control of our cells to help accomplish that task. "By understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 controls our metabolism, we can wrestle back control from the virus and deprive it from the very resources it needs to survive," Nahmias explained.

With this information in hand, Nahmias and tenOever began to screen FDA-approved medications that interfere with the virus' ability to reproduce. In lab studies, the cholesterol-lowering drug Fenofibrate (Tricor) showed extremely promising results. By allowing lung cells to burn more fat, fenofibrate breaks the virus' grip on these cells, and prevents SARS CoV-2's ability to reproduce. In fact, within only five days of treatment, the virus almost completely disappeared.

"With second-wave infections spiking in countries across the globe, these findings couldn't come at a better time," said Nahmias, and global cooperation may provide the cure. "The collaboration between the Nahmias and tenOever labs demonstrates the power of adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to study SARS-CoV-2 and that our findings could truly make a significant different in reducing the global burden of COVID-19," tenOever added.

While there are many international efforts currently underway to develop a coronavirus vaccine, studies suggest that vaccines may only protect patients for a few months. Therefore, blocking the virus' ability to function, rather than neutralizing its ability to strike in the first place, may be the key to turning the tables on COVID-19. "If our findings are borne out by clinical studies, this course of treatment could potentially downgrade COVID-19's severity into nothing worse than a common cold," Nahmias concluded.

[absalom01]

A second therapy, using an existing (cheap) drug proposed by practicing clinicians.

But we have to "wait for a vaccine" to allow people to go about their business.

It's almost as if the media, the Democrat party, and the rest of the deep state don't want to find a workable treatment for this bug.

[Revel]

There is already an early treatment. It is called HCQ. Too bad the democrats have made it impossible to get for most people. They have mass murdered a bunch of people.

[SanchoP]

There will never be a vaccine for it. It’s a bio engineered version of the common cold.

[wally_bert]

The capacity for mass murder is a resume booster in dim circles.

[beethovenfan]

Would Lipitor work also?

[Pontiac]

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-93290/fenofibrate-oral/details

[elengr]

"There will never be a vaccine for it. It’s a bio engineered version of the common cold."

SARS-CoV-2 is a completely different virus than the common cold, but it probably was bio-engineered in China. China is evil.

[absalom01]

It’s almost like they want the body count.

To the best of my knowledge, there are several possible theraputics that promise to make this virus a non-issue.

1) The “Zelenko Protocol” of HCQ+antibiotoc+zinc
2) Bbudesonide
3) Beta Interferon

All cheap, readily available. But of the three, double-blind studies are underway only for Beta Interferon. Why is that?

[FXRP]

Guessing Lipitor doesn’t work. Otherwise all of those old men wouldn’t be dying.

[VeniVidiVici]

This virus prevents the routine burning of carbohydrates. As a result, large amounts of fat accumulate inside lung cells,

Confused. I thought if the body couldn't burn carbs it would burn fat. Why would the body accumulate fat if it can't burn carbs?

[absalom01]

Here's the summary from the paper itself: Here we show that the transcriptional response SARS-CoV-2 in primary lung epithelial cells and biopsies of COVID-19 patients is predominantly metabolic. This transcriptional signature was dominated by changes to lipid metabolism and the induction of IRE1 and PKR pathways of endoplasmic stress in a process regulated by several viral proteins. Transcriptional regulatory analysis of these changes reveals small clusters of transcription factors modulating key enzymes in each pathway. The upregulation of glycolysis and the dysregulation of the citric acid cycle was mediated by NFκB and RELA. While the upregulation of fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis showed a more complex control conditionally modulated by ER-stress activated PPARγ, C/EBP, and PPARα. Viral protein ORF3a appeared to interact with all three pathways suggesting both direct and indirect modulation of host metabolism. Finally, we show that PPARα-agonist fenofibrate reversed the metabolic changes induced by SARS-CoV-2 blocking viral replication

[zek157]

Sounds like pure bs, but if it were true one could do the same thing on a keto diet. Skip the carbs.

[SanchoP]

SARS-CoV-2

Where did you come up with that?

[Bayard]

Drug companies are absolutely siding with Democrats and together they’re also screwing the public.

[21twelve]

Well, Sars_COV1 was 11(?) years ago. No vaccine for that yet. (No vaccine for ANY coronavirus for that matter has ever been successful.)

[Bayard]

Henry Ford study already proved HDQ is effective. So we don’t have to reargue that anymore.

[Jewbacca]

Doubtful. Fenofibrate is a different class of drug.

[21twelve]

That was one of the original names for Covid 19. It is very close to Sars_cov1 (we know it as SARS), they just added the 2. I think many research papers still use the Cov2 designation for Covid 19, Wuhan Flu, CCP Virus, etc.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Important part: "Finally, we show that PPARα-agonist fenofibrate reversed the metabolic changes induced by SARS-CoV-2 blocking viral replication" I got this much. Already approved for lowering triglycerides per link above.

[WildHighlander57]

Yep, and Dr fakey fauci is at the top of the list.