CytoSorbents Corporation (CTSO)

[techxen]

Cytokine Storm in COVID-19 (Frontiers in Immunology)

Cytokine Storm in COVID-19: The Current Evidence and Treatment Strategies
College of Basic Medical Science, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01708/full

This article from researchers in China was published a couple of days ago. What I found very interesting is that the only extracorporeal therapy they mentioned in the paper was Cytosorb - no mention at all of Jafron HA330/HA380, which is surprising as it is a China-based company, or Baxter Oxiris.

Potential Treatments for Cytokine Storm in COVID-19 and Their Safety - Cytokine-Adsorption Device

"Cytokine adsorption involves using a method, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), to filter harmful substances directly. An extracorporeal cytokine hemoadsorption device called Cytosorb® (Cytosorbents, Monmouth, NJ, USA) has been reported to capture and reduce inflammatory mediators. Bruenger and colleagues reported that the plasma level of IL-6 and procalcitonin decreased in one patient with severe ARDS after Treatment with ECMO using a hemoadsorption device (78). A 45-year-old patient with severe ARDS showed that venous arterial-ECMO combined with hemoadsorption therapy decreased plasma concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8. Moreover, hemodynamic stabilization, respiratory improvement, and a decline in capillary leakage can be achieved in combination therapy (79). Two trials employing hemoadsorption therapy for infection-related cytokine storm are ongoing (NCT04195126, NCT03685383).

A similar therapy involves dialysis. The mainly water-soluble mediators are removed from plasma, and the hemofilters can have additional adsorptive properties (80). Continuous venovenous hemofiltration and adsorption for severe septic shock are being tested in one clinical trial (NCT03974386).

Neutralizing excessive cytokines with hemoadsorption devices might be relatively effective. The disadvantage is like corticosteroids: a wide range of cytokines would be adsorbed. Thus, it would lead to the a lack of cytokines, which are at reasonable or even insufficient levels. We suggest treating the cytokine storm in COVID-19 should base on the laboratory results of cytokines and chemokines. Meanwhile, adjusting the parameters of the devices (e.g., treatment duration) for preventing overtreatment."