Does dextromethorphan help the virus grow?

A “plan” that reveals how the new coronavirus infects human cells and what medications might affect that process has also prompted researchers to warn of a common ingredient in cough medicine.

An over-the-counter cough suppressant found in more than 120 cough and cold products, dextromethorphan was found to have “pro-viral activity” in laboratory experiments, and “should therefore be warranted for use. caution and additional studies in the context of COVID-19, ”wrote the study authors, published in Nature on Thursday.

Since coughing is a key warning sign of coronavirus infection, that would be of great concern to the many people trying to alleviate their symptoms with cough syrup or cough drops.

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But the findings don’t necessarily mean that people should stop using drugs with this ingredient, said Brian Shoichet, one of the researchers and professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.

“I personally would not recommend that just with our data. It would prevent people from taking almost all cough medicine in the US. And many people who would quit wouldn’t even have COVID-19, “Shoichet TODAY said.” I think the pro-viral activity seen in vitro deserves further controlled clinical study. “

Nevan Krogan, who led the research and serves as director of the University of California, San Francisco Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, agreed.

“This is information we wanted to report responsibly, but tempered with a strong warning that these results were seen in the laboratory (and) further testing, especially in humans, is needed before reaching definitive conclusions,” Krogan said.

The potential of dextromethorphan to promote virus growth was observed in monkey cells in a laboratory dish. The effects, if developed clinically, are likely to be unique to the new coronavirus and have not been known before, Shoichet noted.

It is not a known side effect of dextromethorphan and the researchers have no reason to believe it would affect influenza, for example, he added.

More than 120 US scientists participated in the study. USA And Europe that are looking for possible treatments for COVID-19.

They created a model of more than 300 human proteins that the virus requires to infect human cells, then analyzed what existing drugs, or those in development, could target those proteins, UCSF said in a press release. They found a number with the potential to treat COVID-19.

Drugs that showed antiviral activity against the new coronavirus in laboratory experiments included zotatifin, which is currently in clinical trials for cancer; ternatin-4 / plitidepsin, which is FDA approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma; haloperidol, which is used to treat schizophrenia; the antihistamines clemastine and cloperastine; and the female hormone progesterone.

A preclinical compound (a drug that is not yet approved for any condition and has no human clinical data either) called PB28 had approximately 20 times greater antiviral activity in laboratory experiments than hydroxychloroquine, which is being studied as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

The researchers warn that the promising drugs in the analysis have only been tested against the new coronavirus in laboratory experiments, so human clinical trials would be needed to ensure they are safe and effective. Until then, the authors do not recommend anyone prescribe or use the drugs to treat COVID-19.

The study “will help focus clinical trials on the most promising agents” to fight the virus, Krogan said in a statement.