Study: Ancient Greek drug could reduce Covid deaths by half
What you need to know:
- The remedy dubbed Colchicine is likely to bring down coronavirus fatality rate by up to 50 per cent.
- Colchicine, which is derived from Colchicum plants lineage, was originally used by ancient Greeks and was famed for its healing properties.
An ancient drug used in Greece to treat gout could reduce the risk of Covid-19 related mortalities by half, a new study has found.
The remedy dubbed Colchicine is likely to bring down coronavirus fatality rate by up to 50 per cent, as illustrated by a latest survey conducted by Israeli scientists based at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Colchicine, which is derived from Colchicum plants lineage, was originally used by ancient Greeks and was famed for its healing properties.
Around the first century AD, it started to spread widely as medication for gout and other inflammatory ailments.
According to the researchers, the drug is one of the few ancient medicines that have managed to manoeuvre their way into modern times.
To ascertain the effectiveness of Colchicine, four pilot studies consisting of 6,000 Covid-19 patients have been published, with each indicating a “clear benefit” from its usage.
The studies, which were conducted worldwide including countries like Brazil, Greece, Canada and Spain, also investigated the likelihood of the drug in reducing hospital stays occasioned by Covid-19.
From their analysis of the surveys, the Israeli scholars noted that “serious Covid-19 indices improved significantly among patients treated with colchicine.
What is more, the deaths reduced by approximately 50 percent, as the findings illustrated.
In the latest survey, the lead researcher, Professor Ami Schattner, used a different approach.
He analysed all patients in control experiments who were treated using colchicine over the last 20 years for any purposes other than just Covid-19 treatment.
Four of the studies reviewed focused on the drug’s use in treating coronavirus, with each showing a “significant improvement.”
According to Schattner, the tests conducted were more accurate since they were all trials on the placebo.
The discovery could greatly boost the fight against Covid-19 pandemic considering that colchicine is cheap and only few doses are required daily.
“Colchicine’s capability to improve the results of patients ailing from Covid-19, if confirmed by further studies, is a vital discovery which is likely to contribute significantly to the mortality and morbidity of patients.
“The reason is because it is cheap and it is also tolerated well in 10 per cent of patients suffering from mild illnesses, for instance diarrhoea,” remarked Schattner.
In order to authenticate the outcome of the precursory study, Schattner called for further random tests comprising of patients with Covid-19 and the drug.
He held that this could lead to large scale use of colchicine in low doses to treat Covid-19 patients, arguing that “there is no reason this cannot start now.”
Initial studies have, however, shown mixed results on the usage of the drug, with some indicating no benefit whatsoever while others showing significant benefit.
