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Plasma Therapy: A possible treatment for coronavirus?

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Science & Technology
  • Published
    30th Apr, 2020
  • Context

    • Scientists and researchers are exploring various avenues to come up with medical treatments that can fight the novel coronavirus. One such treatment that's in focus right now is Convalescent Plasma Therapy.
    • After China and the US, India has given a go ahead for framing a protocol to conduct a clinical trial for convalescent plasma therapy.
  • What is Convalescent Plasma Therapy?

    • The convalescent plasma therapy aims at using antibodies from the blood of a recovered Covid-19 patient to treat those critically affected by the virus.
    • The therapy can also used to immunise those at a high risk of contracting the virus -- such as health workers, families of patients and other high-risk contacts.
    • This therapy's concept is simple and is based on the premise that the blood of a patient who has recovered from Covid-19 contains antibodies with the specific ability of fighting novel coronavirus.
    • The theory is that the recovered patient's antibodies, once ingested into somebody under treatment, will begin targetting and fighting the novel coronavirus in the second patient.
    • The convalescent plasma therapy is akin to passive immunisation as, according to researchers, it is a preventive measure and not a treatment for the Covid-19 disease.
  • How Convalescent Plasma Therapy works?

    • The convalescent plasma therapy uses antibodies developed within an infected person while he/she is infected with the novel coronavirus.
    • These antibodies are developed in a patient as part of the body's natural immune response to a foreign pathogen or in this case, the novel coronavirus.
    • These antibodies are highly specific to the invading pathogen and so, work to eliminate the novel coronavirus from the patient's body.
    • Once the patient has recovered, they donate their blood so that their antibodies can be used to treat other patients. The donated blood is then checked for the presence of any other disease-causing agents such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV etc.
    • If deemed safe, the blood is then taken through a process to extract 'plasma', the liquid part of the blood that contains antibodies. The antibody-rich plasma, once extracted, is then ingested into the body of a patient under treatment.
  • What are the risks involved?

    • Transfer of blood substances: As the blood transfusion takes place, there are risks that an inadvertent infection might get transferred to the patient.
    • Enhancement of infection: The therapy might fail for some patients and can result in an enhanced form of the infection.
    • Effect on immune system: The antibody administration may end up suppressing the body's natural immune response, leaving a Covid-19 patient vulnerable to subsequent re-infection.
  • Previous Examples of Plasma Therapy

    This is not the first time convalescent plasma therapy is being considered as a treatment for viral infections.

    • In 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had recommended the use of convalescent plasma therapy to treat patients with the antibody-rich plasma of those who had recovered from the Ebola virus disease.
    • For the treatment of people infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which is also caused by a coronavirus, a protocol for use of convalescent plasma was established in 2015.
    • During the 1918 H1N1 influenza virus (Spanish flu) pandemic, the therapy was used experimentally.
    • The plasma therapy was used as a treatment during the H1N1 infection of 2009.
  • What does the previous research say?

    • During the SARS outbreak in 2002, various studies came to a conclusion that convalescent plasma therapy resulted in earlier recoveries in patients compared to regular drugs. It was found that "people treated with it [the therapy] within two weeks of showing symptoms had a higher chance of being discharged from hospital than did those who weren't treated.
    • In 2009, during the H1N1 outbreak, a study conducted to analyse the impact of the plasma therapy found that it helped reduce respiratory troubles and lowered the risk of mortality.
    • At the time of the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) had prioritised the evaluation of the convalescent plasma therapy. Essentially, that convalescent plasma therapy did not turn out to be of much help in the case of Ebola virus.

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