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(FILE) The microbiologist works on laboratory tests for COVID-19 – AFP
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A former antipsychotic drug prescribed to treat schizophrenia, chlorpromazine, will be the subject of the first clinical trial in France in patients with oxygen deficiency caused by COVID-19, according to a doctor responsible for the research.
“The pilot study, called reCoVey, will begin this week with 40 hospitalized non-psychiatric COVID-19 patients, half of whom will receive chlorpromazine and standard treatment (oxygen, hydration, anticoagulants, if necessary), and the other half will receive treatment. Marion Plaze, of the Sainte-Anne hospital in Paris, told AFP.
The goal is to see if this drug accelerates the cure and decreases the severity of the disease. Patients’ hearts will be monitored to avoid any risk of heart problems.
The specialist hopes to obtain the first results in a month, which can happen more quickly if other establishments participate in the study. If the results are encouraging, another study may be conducted with a larger number of patients.
“We were surprised that our psychiatric patients were very little affected by the epidemic,” he said.
A small number of cases of COVID-19 have been reported in psychiatric clinics in China, Italy, Spain, and hospitals in France, according to GHU Paris Psychiatrie & Neurosciences, which includes three hospitals, including Saint-Anne Hospital.
Dr. Anne-Cécile Petit will also conduct an epidemiological study, called CLEVER, at all three GHU hospitals, using a Pasteur Institute serology test on 250 psychiatric patients and 250 health professionals to support clinical observations.
“We knew the in vitro antiviral properties of chlorpromazine (Largactil) in previous coronaviruses, SARS-Cov-1 and MERS-CoV. We asked the Pasteur Institute to test the antiviral activity (of the drug) in the current coronavirus in human cells in the laboratory, “he added.
This neuroleptic would prevent the virus from entering the cell. Other similar remedies could be investigated, according to the doctor in charge of the study.
