(ANSA) – ROME, 02 NOV – Monoclonal antibodies are effective in protecting elderly and diabetic macaque monkeys from the pulmonary and neurological damage caused by Covid-19. This was highlighted by a study conducted by researchers from the University of California, Davis, published in the scientific journal Cell Reports.
The researchers studied two human monoclonal antibodies that target the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in elderly and diabetic rhesus macaques, two characteristics associated with more serious consequences in the case of Covid disease. The animals were infused with antibodies three days before they became infected with Sars-CoV-2. Infections were mild in animals pretreated with monoclonal antibodies while the animals in the control group, who had not received therapy, had more signs of inflammation in the lungs. The researchers found infiltration of activated immune cells, or T cells, into the cerebrospinal fluid of control animals one week after infection. While they found no viral RNA and no signs of inflammation in the CSF of the group that received the therapy.
The data show that neutralizing antibodies prevent the inflammatory consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection, said the authors, led by Smita Iyer, associate professor of pathology and immunology at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and Center for Immunology and Infectious Disease. The results of the study, funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), also suggest that the antibodies could be given as a preventative treatment to high-risk people, such as elderly residents during an outbreak in a nursing home. (HANDLE).
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