Governor Tom Wolf via Flickr
The University of Minnesota has become the first institution in the United States to launch a clinical trial in a new type of COVID-19 treatment.
The U of M announced Thursday the treatment of a patient with COVID-19 and lung failure in a new trial aimed at stopping the “intense inflammatory response of the body” in the sickest patients with COVID- 19.
They will use mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to treat the inflammatory response. MSCs have been used to treat other inflammatory diseases and have been piloted to treat patients with COVID-19 in China and Italy.
Lab research suggests that MSCs may blunt the ‘cytokine storm’, an intense inflammatory reaction in the body, triggered by the virus, which, if left unchecked, can lead to extensive organ damage, most commonly lung failure.
“The inflammation seen in patients with serious COVID-19 can be devastating,” said Dr. David Ingbar, a critical care and pulmonary physician at the M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC).
“The cytokine storm can quickly lead to shock, massive buildup of fluid in the tissues, and immediate severe tissue injury, mostly in the lungs.”
“The study will determine the effect of MSCs on stopping the cytokine storm,” said John E. Wagner, MD, cancer researcher and director of the Institute of Cell, Gene and Immunotherapy at the University of Minnesota. “To determine the true benefit of MSCs in these very sick patients, patients will be randomized to receive three doses of MSC 48 hours apart as a placebo solution.”
The multisite study will be conducted at UMMC and Bethesda Hospital, the latter of which was previously used as a dedicated COVID-19 facility during the initial outbreak.
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