ABSTRACT
The pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) posted a devastating global health crisis for almost a year already. Very little is known about this virus that scientists, physicians and the medical community struggled to find treatments of this novel virus. The vaccine that can potentially combat this virus is still an unknown reality hence, the repurposing of existing medical treatments such as chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM) could be a possible treatment and is being widely utilized. CPM is a safe and effective antihistamine with potent antiviral activity against various strains of influenza A/B, thus highlighting its great antiviral potential. We tested the virucidal potential of chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM) in a nasal spray composition currently in development as an anti-allergy medication. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a droplet mode transmission with a notably high viral load in the upper respiratory tract, especially the nose. Several studies had already postulated that the nose is possibly the primary route of entry of SARS-CoV-2 owing to the high expression of Angiotensin 2 converting enzyme receptors. We hypothesize that utilizing (CPM) nasal spray as an adjunct treatment to COVID-19 positive patients and reduce their clinical course and hasten their time to negativization via RT-PCR via nasopharyngeal swab. We present a series of four symptomatic patients with mild-moderate risks. CPM nasal spray was added to their current supportive treatment. All four patients showed rapid improvement of their clinical symptoms with a shorter than average time to negativization on repeat nasopharyngeal swab via RT-PCR. No safety issues were encountered during the course of treatment. Given its years of excellent safety profile with remarkable clinical results as shown in this case series, we conclude that CPM nasal spray may be a potential adjunct treatment option in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections , Drug HypersensitivityABSTRACT
Viral pandemics have taken a significant toll on humanity and the world now is contending with the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. It appears that more Americans will die early in just one year due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Readily available and economical preventive measures should be immediately explored. Xylitol has been reported to reduce the severity of viral infections. Xylitol has also been demonstrated to reduce the severity of pneumonia, and increase the survivability of animal subjects. Pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome are potentially fatal complications of COVID-19. We tested the effectiveness of xylitol against SARS-CoV-2. Virus titers and LRV of SARS-CoV-2, were incubated with a single concentration of nasal spray. Toxicity was observed in the top dilution (1/10). Virus was seen below that dilution so it did not affect calculations of virus titer or LRV. After a 25-minute contact time, the nasal spray reduced virus from 4.2 to 1.7 log10 CCID50 per 0.1 mL, a statistically significant reduction of 2.5 log10 CCID50. STEM Images obtained at the BIoCryo Laboratory revealed virus contained on the cell wall but none intra-cellular, possibly due to D-xylose (xylitol) production of glycoaminoglycans decoy targets. Xylitol and grapefruit seed extract are not exotic nor expensive rare high technology answers to viral epidemics. The potential in saving lives and the economies of the world by using X-GSE combination therapy should inspire large clinical trials, especially in those nations whereas the healthcare system would be dangerously compromised by the adoption of less effective and significantly more financially demanding therapies. Because there are no risk factors in using the X/GSE combination therapy, and the nasal spray is over the counter available without a prescription, and the spray allows for comfortable long term mask-wearing, adoption of this preventive anti-viral therapy should be encouraged.
Subject(s)
Respiratory Distress Syndrome , Pneumonia , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome , Virus Diseases , Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions , COVID-19ABSTRACT
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the ongoing pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has triggered worldwide concerted efforts in an attempt to identify effective therapies. In the present study, we have identified two candidate agents with potential activity against SARS-CoV-2 which can be administered intranasally, namely, xylitol and grape seed fruit extract (GSE). A commercially available nasal spray (Xlear) combining xylitol and GSE has been available for years, but the antiviral effects of this solution have not been documented. This in vitro study examined the virucidal effect of Xlear against SARS-CoV-2. To this end, two independent sets of experiments were carried out to test the hypothesis that Xlear is an effective (Experiment I) and replicable (Experiment II) means to deactivate SARS-CoV-2. When tested against SARS-CoV-2, the test compound GSE 0.2% was the only compound effective at reducing >3 log10 CCID50 infectious virus from, 3.67 log10 CCID50/0.1 mL to an undetectable amount of infectious virus. The present results validated by two independent sets of experiments, performed by different labs, on different viral strains, provide early evidence to encourage further pilot and clinical studies aimed at investigating the use of Xlear as a potential treatment for COVID-19