Anyone who knows the movie “Outbreak”?
Considering that in this movie one monkey saved the world with its serum, in fact with its IgG antibodies, one wonders why this principle is not used right now?
We face at least 126.660 COVID-19 infected people worldwide but also 68.305 people recovered from the COVID-19 infection. These people should have sufficient amounts of potent IgG antibodies to fight COVID-19. Thus one could get quite fast some of this serum to treat the most endangered COVID-19 infected patients. Or do I have a mistake in thinking here?
what you see in the movie isn't necessarily based on reality.
still not a bad thought, let's hope something will be found.
Hve you read the book the eyes of the darkness (1981) by Dean R. Koontz, is amazingly predictive and accurate with the situation the world is living righ now. He also talked about the name of the city where the virus was going to spread the world. Same place as now.
Dear researchers have a nice Sunday. My question regard the nature of Lombardia (N. Italy) Coronavirus: its death rate is not compatible with COVID19 but with SARS. WHY??? >> see data >> https://www.researchgate.net/post/The_novel_Coronavirus_in_N_Italy_Lombardia_COVID19_2019nCoV_SARSCoV2_shows_a_fatality_rate_compatible_with_SARS_Why
The sera of convalescent patients after recovery from COVID-19 are being used.
The problem is the availability, purification, and whether such patients would donate it.
The helpful articles with links are:
1. The convalescent sera option for containing COVID-19. J Clin Invest. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI138003
2. Convalescent plasma as a potential therapy for COVID-19.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30141-9/fulltext
3. Chinese doctors using plasma therapy on coronavirus, WHO says 'very valid' approach
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-hospital/chinese-doctors-using-plasma-therapy-on-coronavirus-who-says-very-valid-approach-idUSKBN20B1M6
Great information, Yousuf.
But would it not be a a better chance to immortalize human B cells from COVID-19 convalescent people taking their blood and isolate their B cells, immortalize them and use the anti COVID-19 human mAbs for therapeutic (and diagnostic) approaches instead of purifying IgGs from their serum?
@ Bernhard B. Singer
Immortalizing the B-cells from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 as suggested you is an absolutely amazing idea. However, one will need to continue working in the face of news mutations of SARS-CoV-2 as has been found in Italy. Until this can be done, convalescent sera and other experimental drugs need to be used until the initial results of SOLIDARITY trial supervised by WHO are available.
Good to read that they are now testing immortalizing B-cells as well.
But how do they test the immune response of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 in patient facing severe problems up to death and people completely recovered from the virus infections? Do they measure the amount of virus specific whole Ig versus IgG fractions? Maybe people dying of the virus are not making a sufficient immune response thus lacking neutralizing IgG antibodies. These people most likely would fail to make a proper immune protection even after virus vaccinations because they just can not make a proper immune response.
Convalescent plasma might be an effective therapeutic option.
Please have a look at the following link:
Article COVID-19 convalescent plasma transfusion