Existing arthritis drugs could help stop lingering lung problems that can last up to years after COVID-19 infections, according to a study from researchers at Charlottesville, Va.-based UVA Health and Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai.
The study, which was published Sept. 4 and examined damaged human lungs and advanced lab models, found drugs such as baricitinib and anakinra may halt post-infection lung fibrosis, a condition with "no good treatments," according to a Sept. 5 news release from UVA Health.
The researchers found that faulty immune responses involving CD8+ T cells and macrophages were driving ongoing inflammation and lung scarring even after COVID-19 recovery.
"Our collaboration with doctors and computer biologists at UVA and Cedars-Sinai … led us to uncover the root cause of persistent lung inflammation and scarring after severe acute COVID-19 and possibly other respiratory infections like the flu," researcher Jie Sun, PhD, a professor at the University of Virginia, said in the release.
These new findings offer hope for patients not only with long COVID, but could benefit those with lung fibrosis caused by other conditions or infections, the researchers said.