Monday, June 15, 2020

UMC Tests Plasma as C-19 Treatment

UMC issued the following statement. 

  One of the keys to treating COVID-19 could be in the blood on those who have already recovered from the potentially deadly viral infection.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center is leading a clinical trial where hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 will receive plasma from people that have recovered.
Dr. Gailen Marshall, R. Faser Triplett Sr. M.D. Chair of Allergy and Immunology at UMMC, is leading the study.
During an infection, the human body makes antibodies that work to neutralize the effect of the invading bacteria or virus, he said. These antibodies stay in the person’s blood plasma after they have beat the infection.
“The majority of people infected with this novel coronavirus recover fully, and these individuals will almost always possess a robust antibody response,” he said. “Our trial seeks to learn if people with severe COVID-19 could benefit from an infusion of these antibodies.”
UMMC needs two kinds of research volunteers for this study: current hospitalized COVID-19 patients and people who have recovered. For the latter group, Marshall and his colleagues will screen volunteers with a documented COVID-19 diagnosis – “people who received a nasal swab test and tested positive for the virus,” he said.
To screen potential plasma donors, a research nurse will draw a small blood sample in order to measure COVID-19 specific antibodies and determine if they are present at a high enough concentration. If a volunteer meets all of the study participation requirements, they will be asked to donate plasma at Mississippi Blood Services for the study. Plasma can be banked for one year, Marshall said, which is good news because there will likely be new COVID-19 infections in Mississippi for several months.
UMMC’s trial is one of dozens worldwide testing the safety and efficacy of plasma in treating COVID-19. Physicians have used convalescent plasma and its antibodies for more than a century to prevent and treat infectious diseases including influenza, diphtheria and measles before vaccines were available. This technique, which passes passive immunity to the patient, can cause a positive immune response relatively quickly, Marshall said.
Marshall notes that the current COVID-19 patients who receive the plasma will also continue to receive the standard of care for the disease. This includes hospitalization and, if needed, supplemental oxygen or ventilation to manage severe disease. However, there are no Food and Drug and Administration-approved treatments or vaccines for COVID-19. Clinical research is necessary to remedy this, Marshall said.
“We know that COVID-19 is likely to return in some form or another,” he said. “The purpose of clinical trials like this one is to help us prepare so that we can have more knowledge, treat people more quickly, prevent severe disease and decrease the number of deaths during a future outbreak.”
For more information about this clinical trial, contact Lynn Oakes at (601) 496-7837 or loakes1@umc.edu. To learn more about other COVID-19-related clinical trials at UMMC, visit https://umc.edu/clinicaltrials/.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Totally unclear from the announcement is whether there are neutralizing antibodies in the potential treatment. Will the university explain how they have determined whether there are neutralizing antibodies in the potential treatment arm?

Anonymous said...

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but damn it seems like things are progressing a lot more slowly than they could. Use of plasma from recovered patients is not new, it was used during the 1918 pandemic. It was approved for use by the FDA for use in COVID-19 patients on March 26 and actually used at Houston Methodist Hospital in early April. I would have thought testing would have started sometime in mid-April and the benefits of the treatment would be known by now.

Anonymous said...

soooo.... now we are calling it "C-19" ??

Anonymous said...

One of our guys tested positive after becoming rather ill. Ended up in the hospital, not ICU or on vent, but underwent Plasma infusion. Stated that after about 2-3 days began feeling better. Not sure if that was natural progression or the Plasma. Doing well and has returned to work.

Not believing it said...

Lets call it what it is. "Chinese Virus" No more smoke and mirrors. We're being led astray. Don't comply.

Anonymous said...

Mt. Sinai plasma studies (pre-published to date) have shown a slight improvement in their first 40 patients with plasma. It is not a "game-changer." They were careful only use plasma that had a titer of equal to or greater than 1:320. How is UMC selecting its plasma? (" Plasma recipients were transfused with convalescent plasma from donors with a SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike antibody titer (level) of greater than or equal to 1:320 dilution and all were transfused with two units of convalescent plasma matching the recipient’s blood type.")


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This is definitely a Beaver production.


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Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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