United States: Scientists Treat Men with Estrogens and Progesterone to Fight COVID-19



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The researchers in charge of this particular therapy think that through it, they could strengthen the immune system of patients against the rebellious virus.

It has been repeatedly said that women are more likely to survive the coronavirus, an antecedent that alerted scientists in the United States, who set about developing a clinical trial to be applied in New York and Los Angeles consisting of the supply of female sex hormones to men to combat COVID-19.

The researchers think that through this treatment, they could strengthen the immune system of the patients. In New York, in fact, they have already started treating them with estrogens, while in Los Angeles they will use progesterone for its “anti-inflammatory properties and potentially because it can prevent damaging overreactions of the immune system.”

Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai intensive care physician and pulmonologist Sara Ghandehari, interviewed by The New York Times, said the behavior of the virus in pregnant women caught their attention. COVID-19 affects them, but their body resists, which made them think that hormones could be a good ally to counteract their harmful effects.

Ghandehari thinks progesterone “will prevent or buffer a damaging overreaction of the immune system, called a cytokine storm, and reduce the likelihood of acute respiratory distress syndrome.”

In the case of estrogen, this could block the entry of the coronavirus into the body, through an angiotensin-2 converting enzyme on which it has a reducing effect, said Kathryn Sandberg, director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Differences in Health, Aging and Georgetown University Diseases.

Experimental therapy, it has been clarified, will be done on the basis of the supply of doses for a short period, while in relation to side effects, those who are involved in these scientific trials may experience sensitivity in the breasts and hot flashes.

The novel therapy to confront the rebellious virus has been questioned by those who think that the factors that make men more vulnerable to Covid-19 go further. In this regard, Sabra Klein, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, raised the question about the effectiveness of this treatment, wondering if hormones are the answer, how then is the recovery of women with menopause explained.

“You could get a beneficial effect on both men and women. But if women recover better at 93, I doubt they are hormones, “said the professional.



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