10 Drugs Including Female Sex Hormone Are Effective Against COVID-19, Says New Study

As researchers make efforts to find a viable cure to the novel Coronavirus, a total of 10 different drug compounds have been listed for the purpose in a recent study.

These drugs range from those used for cancer therapies to antipsychotics and antihistamines used for allergies.

Reuters

The possibility of preventing COVID 19 with these drugs has been highlighted in a new multidisciplinary study conducted by a team of scientists in the United States and France. The study focuses on finding a way to stop the virus from using protein cells inside a host body to replicate.

The spread of the virus is based on such proteins inside a body, as healthy human proteins are the main target of the virus, that further enable it to make copies of itself within a human body.

The results from the study identified 47 compounds in cell cultures for the desired effect. At least 10 of these compounds are already used, or are being studied for use, in approved drugs. This gives the researchers a chance to repurpose the compounds against the COVID 19 virus.

COVID 19 Possible Vaccines

The leading candidate in this race is Remdesivir, an antiviral drug by Gilead Sciences Inc. Other potential drugs include malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine, the antipsychotic Haloperidol as well as allergy medicine ingredients like Clemastine.

The study also highlighted the toxic side effects of Hydroxychloroquine, shedding more light on why the drug is not used for the treatment yet. It explains that Hydroxychloroquine, in addition to blocking the intended protein receptors, also hits a particular protein in the heart tissue, thus affecting heart rhythms of the patient.

Interestingly, the study also mentions the progesterone, the female sex hormone, to be effective against the virus. This might also form the reason why men seem more susceptible to COVID-19 and can suffer from severe complications more often than women.

Coronavirus Vaccine

In totality, the study reveals that even better cures than Remdesivir might be up for discovery. "Some of our drugs and compounds are many times more potent than remdesivir, at least in a laboratory setting," study author Nevan Krogan of the University of California San Francisco, pointed out.

Remdesivir, however, currently seems to be the closest drug to obtain regulatory approval for its use against COVID 19. With its initial trial results being successful, the drug has been found to help patients recover more quickly. That is, however, still subject to further studies.

The recent study has been published in the journal Nature and can be read here.