Canada’s Lawson Health Research Institute marks a first in treatments for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19 after their team successfully treated a patient with COVID-19 through a modified dialysis device.
The process takes the patient’s blood, modifies white blood cells, and reintroduces the blood cells to the body to fight hyperinflammation, with ongoing tests at London Health Services Centre (LHSC) particularly to aid critically ill patients.
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“Working in the intensive care unit (ICU), I was aware that more treatment options were needed in the fight against COVID-19. This led to the idea of treating a patient’s blood outside of the body. We could reprogram white blood cells associated with inflammation to alter the immune response,” said Dr. Chris McIntyre, lead researcher, Lawson Scientist and LHSC Nephrologist as per reports from EurekAlert.
Studies have proven that COVID-19 causes a ‘cytokine storm’ or a heightened immune response for terminally ill patients. Treatment options for this dangerous COVID-19 phase are currently limited, which is why this treatment that’s ongoing at the LHSC is a big step in the country’s fight against COVID-19.
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Up to 40 critically ill patients with COVID-19 at LHSC’s Victoria Hospital and University Hospital will be given the necessary treatment as part of the clinical trials. The research team will then study outcomes per patient to see if the treatment will be viable not just for COVID-19, but for other illnesses as well.
