# 3978
During a major influenza pandemic, a billion people . . .perhaps more, could fall seriously ill over the course of a few months.
Vaccines take months to produce, and our production and distribution capacity is woefully inadequate for a planet of nearly 7 billion people.
Antivirals are in short supply as well, and very expensive to boot.
What the world desperately needs is a cheap (preferably generic) medication that will help treat severe influenza cases. It needs to be a shelf stable pill, that is easy to dispense, has a low incidence of side effects, and can reduce influenza morbidity and mortality.
A tall order. But perhaps not impossible to fill.
At least, that’s the hope of a number of scientists who are looking into whether statins, or corticosteroids (or a combination of the two), might prove effective in reducing some of the most serious flu symptoms.
This is a subject we’ve covered many times before, most recently about two weeks ago in Statins Revisited. The Reveres at Effect Measure have discussed this often as well, with their most recent essay being Statins for influenza. Why don't we know if it works yet?.
Dr. David Fedson has long championed the idea that we should be investigating statins and other cheaper drugs that may modulate the immune response. Fedson is a former Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and was formerly Director of Medical Affairs, Aventis Pasteur MSD.
Fedson is the author of a number of journal articles, and in recent years has devoted a great deal of attention to how we can meet the challenge of a global pandemic.
Last March Fedson was interviewed on FluTrackers by Sharon Sanders in the wake of the publication of his latest article in the CDC’s Journal of Emerging Infectious Disease, entitled Meeting the Challenge of Influenza Pandemic Preparedness in Developing Countries.
An overview of his work, including the recent FluTrackers Interview may be viewed on the following two blogs:
Fedson On Meeting The Challenge Of A Pandemic
FluTrackers Interview With Dr. David Fedson
Over night, Helen Branswell of The Canadian Press published a terrific article on new studies that intend to investigate these drugs to see if they could help save lives in this pandemic.
As with any Branswell article, it is absolutely worth your time to follow the link and read it in its entirety.
Can cheap drugs help save H1N1 patients? Studies aim to find out
By Helen Branswell Medical Reporter (CP) – 15 hours ago
TORONTO — Can cheap and readily available treatments like steroids and cholesterol-lowering statin drugs help save the sickest of H1N1 patients? New efforts by researchers in Canada, the United States and France could help answer this pressing question.
Randomized controlled studies looking at whether corticosteroids, statins or a combination of the two could contribute to improved survival rates in gravely ill pandemic flu patients are being organized in the three countries by linked networks of intensive care specialists, according to Dr. John Marshall, chair of the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group.
The aim is to try to gather data fast enough to answer the questions in real time, a goal that eluded researchers during SARS.
Toronto physicians treating SARS cases tried to mount a clinical trial to see whether the antiviral drug ribavirin - which was routinely given to SARS patients for lack of other options - was actually helping. But before the trial could be approved, the disease disappeared.
The same could happen with this effort, admits Marshall, a trauma surgeon and critical-care specialist at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital, who says it will take quick work and international collaborations to generate enough data to clarify the role steroids and statins might play in treating H1N1 cases.
* * * * * * * *
If you’d like to learn more about Dr. David Fedson, there are a couple of 1-hour radio interviews – conducted by Sharon Sanders of FluTrackers – archived on the Radio Sandy Springs website.
