The COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly an important catalyst, making the need for research and implementation even more urgent.
Compile | Jun Ling
Source | “Medical Community” Public Account
Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an unprecedented global campaign to fight the pandemic.
Business shutdown, patient isolation, border closure… Hundreds of millions of funds have been invested in public health, scientific research and other fields in a short period of time. This is the first time in the history of human medicine. So much energy to jointly contain the virus.
The cost is painful. According to statistics, the global death toll from the new crown is close to 6 million. But just last week, The Guardian published an article “How Covid changed medicine for the future”, stating that these “costs” have also had unintended consequences for the medical and scientific communities:
“The development of the past two years would not have been possible without Covid-19 – it has become a huge catalyst, leading different technologies and research, providing insights into human medicine .”
COVID-19 is affecting and changing the future of human medicine.
Pandemic reinvents the game for vaccines
In July 2021, 21-year-old Tom Pooley became the first to use an experimental plague vaccine, as researchers at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom announced the first phase of clinical trials of a plague vaccine. people.
The entire painless administration process took only 5 seconds, Tom Pooley felt a little discomfort that night, but after 3 hours it was fine. Since then, the trial has continued to fight the thousand-year-old bacterial threat: In 2017, the plague killed 171 people in Madagascar.
The development of this vaccine is based on the same technology as the new crown vaccine ChAdOx. This is just one example of how Covid-19 vaccines have spun off into other disease areas: A vaccine study against Ebola has entered human trials, while vaccines against dengue, Zika and a host of other pathogens are also being tested.
“Coronavirus has accelerated the process of turning previous knowledge into practice,” said Professor Deenan Pillay, professor of virology at UCL. In fact, medical progress is by no means overnight, and the final landing also requires an opportunity, including the mutual trade-off of policy and economic factors.
But the COVID-19 epidemic is undoubtedly an important catalyst, making the need for research and implementation more urgent, while providing a more conducive environment for research, including more convenient cases Tracking, data collection, and an easier regulatory environment.
For example, mRNA vaccines.
Protection against disease by synthesizing molecules to make human cells produce specific proteins? Five years ago, people were generally hesitant to put a lot of energy and cost into this field, and products based on mRNA technology had never been approved, but the new crown epidemic has successfully changed the rules of the game.
Before the outbreak, Pfizer in the United States had cooperated with BioNTech of Germany to study mRNA technology to deal with influenza. Professor Deenan Pillay said that while previously a new vaccine or drug may have taken a decade or more to complete all the development and review, under the new crown epidemic, it has landed quickly within a year.
In addition, relying on the success of the mRNA technology platform of Moderna in the United States under the epidemic, in 2022, Moderna announced that the mRNA AIDS vaccine will begin human trials. Once successful, this vaccine can be used for Those who have been vaccinated provide life-long protection.
Professor David Diemert, an immunologist at George Washington University, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated mRNA vaccines, so the process from discussing mRNA vaccines for HIV prevention to launching phase I clinical trials has accelerated. It is reported that this vaccine triggers an immune response against HIV by stimulating cells in the lymph nodes, which is unique and very novel for vaccines.
Rabies, Zika, and colon, skin, breast cancer…Modena alone has developed at least 30 drugs based on mRNA therapeutic trials.
In addition to the success of mRNA technology, the health crisis brought about by the pandemic has also accelerated the focus of research into the next frontier—RNA-based therapeutics.
Professor Richard Bucala, Chair of the Department of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology at Yale University School of Medicine, said: “This is an unexpected benefit, RNA and mRNA vaccine technologies have been studied for at least 10 years, but until The COVID-19 pandemic has really made the field of RNA technology heavily invested.”
Professor Richard Bucala believes that the development of a vaccine requires tens of millions of dollars and takes a long time, but it is difficult to determine whether it will be successful in the end and whether it will occupy the market, so few people are willing to take the risk. But the accidental success of RNA technology under the epidemic changed all this:
Malaria, an ancient disease, killed 409,000 people worldwide in 2019. Last year, Professor Richard Bucala’s team worked with industry to patent a saRNA vaccine that can prevent malaria. The vaccine is currently in preclinical trials and will be tested in humans within two years.
Aside from vaccines, what has the coronavirus changed?
A number of seemingly unrelated disease areas are also being impacted by COVID-19 – an outbreak that has deepened the academic and public awareness of common diseases.
Statistics show that during the 2020 pandemic, 78% of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the United States were overweight. Obesity, from a daily topic to a high-risk factor associated with new crown infection, has intensified the importance of human beings to solve the problem of obesity.See.
In June 2021, the US FDA approved Semaglutide, the first obesity drug since 2014. A study of nearly 2,000 patients found that participants lost an average of 15 percent of their weight, potentially twice as effective as previous weight-loss drugs.
Semaglutide was originally used to treat type 2 diabetes, but there is growing evidence that weight loss reduces the severity of Covid-19 infections, and regulators have approved new indications for it.
COVID-19 has also revealed the potential benefits of vitamin D. Norway, Finland and Iceland, three countries that have previously emphasized that adequate “sunbathing” maintains vitamin D levels in the body may be one of the reasons for their low COVID-19 deaths.
Although many follow-up research papers have suggested that vitamin D is not directly linked to the prevention and treatment of new crowns, it has undoubtedly indirectly attracted the attention of the academic community to vitamin D. A sub-journal of The Lancet published a paper co-authored by dozens of experts suggesting that vitamin D deficiency may be associated with the development of many diseases.
“Genetic analysis of vitamin D deficiency was directly linked to all-cause mortality in participants with vitamin D deficiency.” The article calls for broader trials and a re-examination of disease prevention strategies. “Vitamin D may reduce cardiovascular mortality through several potential mechanisms, and several potential mechanisms suggest that vitamin D may treat cancer.”
Meanwhile, in-depth research into the aftermath of COVID-19 has revealed long-term risk factors for other diseases, such as chronic fatigue syndrome.
The formation of microclots in the blood may be a key factor in this. Professor Resia Pretorius, head of the Department of Physiological Sciences at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, has been exploring this field for a long time. After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the urgent needs have further accelerated the research.
Professor Resia Pretorius found that microclots in capillaries prevent oxygen from reaching tissues, leading to long-term symptoms of COVID-19, and draws preliminary conclusions that anticoagulant therapy can help and relieve “Long Covid”
She further explained that for many patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, inflammatory molecules can cause significant damage to the body if not treated early in the onset, which may be related to “Long Covid” for similar reasons.
Also stand out from the crowd.
The concept of public health, epidemiological-related data and knowledge, including “epidemic surveys,” have spread to the general public, and the use of related software on smartphones has also increased. Professor Deenan Pillay said: “People are increasingly accustomed to obtaining clinical advice through online remote consultation, and health information collected on the app can also be sent to medical professionals.”
“The prevention and control of the new crown has given us confidence in the further application of science to health problems.” Professor Deenan Pillay said that at the same time, the public’s acceptance of medical-related “black technology” is also increasing. .
Like many scientists, Professor Resia Pretorius is impressed by the increased level of academic and research collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Coronavirus has united the world on a common sustainable goal,” she said.
Yale University oncologist Professor David Braun felt the same way. Currently, his team is working hard to apply RNA technology to cancer treatment. “I hope that scientific progress during the epidemic can help humans treat other diseases. After more than two years of ‘darkest hour’, this is the turning point we want to see.” Professor David Braun said.
References:
1. How Covid changed medicine for the future, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/20/how-covid-created-a -vision-for-treating-disease
Source: Medicine
Editor in charge: Tian Wei
Proofreading: Zang Hengjia
Plate making: Xue Jiao