COVID: Gout medication could potentially cure severely ill patients; reveals recent study

As the COVID-19 vaccines have not been accessible to everyone, the infections continue to rise in different parts of the world. After being tested positive for the coronavirus, the options are limited for the treatment of the virus. To tackle this problem, the University of Georgia conducted research to come up with a viable option to combat the disease. The university published its study in Nature's Scientific Reports and said that the study found the popular drug Probenecid has effective antiviral properties. This makes it a potential candidate to tackle not only the SARS-CoV-2 infection but also other respiratory viruses like the RSV or flu. Probenecid is a drug used to treat gout, and it has been in the market for over 40 years, with close to no side effects.

Ralph Tripp, the lead author of the study and GRA Eminent Scholar of Vaccine and Therapeutic Studies in UGA's College of Veterinary Medicine, said, "There's really nothing out there to safely fight these viruses. This antiviral works for all RNA respiratory viruses we tested, including SARS-CoV-2. RSV, coronavirus, and flu all circulate in the same season. The bottom line is you can potentially reduce infection and disease using this one oral drug."

As a virus operates by hijacking the host’s immune system to replicate and produce more of the virus, Probenecid completely halts that process and helps in keeping the host safe from the virus. Tripp further said that the drug works as a prophylactic before getting infected and as a post-exposure treatment for animals against SARS-CoV-2 and flu. Although in humans, it would be likely that the drug would be used after a person is tested positive for COVID-19.

Other benefits of preferring Probenecid

Tripp said that the existing treatments for COVID-19 have some effectiveness but they are very costly and rare, which leads to hoarding and dealings in the black market. He said, "In reality, there are only a handful of options that can actually be used because of the cost and lack of access. That's not very useful to the world." The drug Probenecid is already widely available and not only does it prevent the illness before it gets severe, Probenecid can also increase the effectiveness of other treatments. Currently, the researchers are running tests to find out the ideal dosage of probenecid that could be prescribed to people.

(With ANI inputs)