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Plasma Therapy in the fight against Sars-CoV-2: what boils in the pot.
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  • Antonio Vitiello,
  • Francesco Ferrara,
  • Raffaele La Porta,
  • Chiara Pelliccia
Antonio Vitiello
Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale Umbria 1

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Francesco Ferrara
Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale Umbria 1
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Raffaele La Porta
ASUR Marche
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Chiara Pelliccia
Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale Umbria 2
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Abstract

The global pandemic from Sars-cov-2 has down caused thousands of deaths worldwide, triggering a health crisis in the various countries involved, with few precedents in history. To date there are no vaccines for prophylaxis, and there are no antivirals directed against the virus. Among the therapeutic options that have shown effectiveness is passive immunization with immune plasma from convalescent patients cured of the infection. Plasma collected from patients cured of Sars-cov-2 infection is rich in antibodies that neutralized the pathogen. Plasma therapy has already demonstrated its efficacy in other epidemics, such as Sars-Cov and MERS. To date, there are limited data for its use in sars-Cov-2 infection, both for prophylaxis and treatment, but the few existing data bode well for the scientific world. Many questions are still unresolved, when to administer it? At what dosage? When is it most appropriate to take the plasma from the cured patient? Are there different answers depending on gender and age? Certainly in view of the high number of patients infected and cured by Sars-Cov-2, there could be a high amount of plasma from donor patients. In this article we want to give an overview on a current and important topic in the perspective of the battle against the new Sars-Cov-2, analysing the therapeutic successes in past epidemics, the clinical data currently available, the future prospect and an expert opinion.
08 May 2020Submitted to British Journal of Pharmacology
11 May 2020Submission Checks Completed
11 May 2020Assigned to Editor