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A study by a medical team at the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital in Paris and neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux, a member of the French Academy of Sciences, showed that smokers are less affected by the coronavirus. The researchers work with the hypothesis that nicotine could hinder the spread.
While scientists around the world compete against the clock to try to find a drug and a vaccine against coronavirus, a group of French scientists is dedicated to studying a possible effect of nicotine against the disease. The research was published by the French Academy of Sciences, after observing the behavior of the virus in the bodies of smokers and non-smokers.
The study examined 350 people hospitalized and 130 patients who developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus, all with positive results for the disease. Among them, only 5% were regular cigarette users.
Together with neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux, professor Zahir Amoura, who led the study at the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital, works with the hypothesis that something in cigarettes, more specifically nicotine, could make it difficult for the virus to be assimilated by the body . Another idea is that this substance present in cigarettes could also attenuate the excessive immune response observed in the most severe cases of the disease.
“There are approximately 80% fewer smokers among those infected with Covid-19 than in the general population, considering the same sex and the same age,” Amoura told radio. France Inter.
Scientists rely on other data published by public hospitals in Paris. In approximately 11,000 patients admitted in early April, only 8.5% were smokers. A low number compared to the number of people who smoke tobacco in France: 25.4%.
The hypothesis will be verified
A new clinical study on this topic will be carried out shortly. The preliminary survey interested the French health authorities.
Therefore, nicotine patches will be administered in three different groups: in health professionals, hospitalized patients in a stable situation, and others in French ICUs.
At the same time that they are investing in different possibilities, the government is also concerned about the announcement of findings that have not yet been confirmed. Therefore, remember that tobacco is the cause of various diseases and different types of cancer, being responsible for the death of 7 million people per year worldwide.
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