ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cardiometabolic disease may confer increased risk of adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients by activation of the aldose reductase pathway. We hypothesized that aldose reductase inhibition with AT-001 might reduce viral inflammation and risk of adverse outcomes in diabetic patients with COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted an open-label prospective phase 2 clinical trial to assess safety, tolerability and efficacy of AT-001 in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection, history of diabetes mellitus and chronic heart disease. Eligible participants were prospectively enrolled and treated with AT-001 1500 mg BID for up to 14 days. Safety, tolerability, survival and length of hospital stay (LOS) were collected from the electronic medical record and compared with data from two matched control groups (MC1 and MC2) selected from a deidentified registry of COVID-19 patients at the same institution. RESULTS: AT-001 was safe and well tolerated in the 10 participants who received the study drug. In-hospital mortality observed in the AT-001 group was 20% vs. 31% in MC1 and 27% in MC2. Mean LOS observed in the AT-001 group was 5 days vs. 10 days in MC1 and 25 days in MC2. CONCLUSIONS: In hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and co-morbid diabetes mellitus and heart disease, treatment with AT-001 was safe and well tolerated. Exposure to AT-001 was associated with a trend of reduced mortality and shortened LOS. While the observed trend did not reach statistical significance, the present study provides the rationale for investigating potential benefit of AT-001 in COVID 19 affected patients in future studies.
Subject(s)
Aldehyde Reductase/antagonists & inhibitors , Benzothiazoles/therapeutic use , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Pyrazines/therapeutic use , Pyridones/therapeutic use , Registries , Aged , Benzothiazoles/pharmacology , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/mortality , Diabetes Complications/drug therapy , Female , Humans , Hypertension/complications , Inpatients , Male , Middle Aged , New York/epidemiology , Pilot Projects , Prospective Studies , Pyrazines/pharmacology , Pyridones/pharmacologyABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presents an unprecedented challenge and opportunity for translational investigators to rapidly develop safe and effective therapeutic interventions. Greater risk of severe disease in COVID-19 patients with comorbid diabetes mellitus, obesity, and heart disease may be attributable to synergistic activation of vascular inflammation pathways associated with both COVID-19 and cardiometabolic disease. This mechanistic link provides a scientific framework for translational studies of drugs developed for treatment of cardiometabolic disease as novel therapeutic interventions to mitigate inflammation and improve outcomes in patients with COVID-19.