A Pilot Trial of Thymalfasin (Thymosin-α-1) to Treat Hospitalized Patients With Hypoxemia and Lymphocytopenia Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection.
Shehadeh. Fadi F; Benitez. Gregorio G; Mylona. Evangelia K EK; Tran. Quynh-Lam QL; Tsikala-Vafea. Maria M; Atalla. Eleftheria E; Kaczynski. Matthew M; Mylonakis. Eleftherios E
Key Findings
- Thymosin‑alpha‑1 increased CD4+ T‑cell counts by about 3.8‑fold over five days in patients on low‑flow oxygen.
- Clinical recovery rates were higher in the treated group but the differences were not statistically significant.
- Nine serious adverse events occurred in the treatment arm, none of which were linked to the peptide.
Practical Outcomes
- For biohackers interested in immune support, thymosin‑alpha‑1 appears safe and can boost CD4+ T cells quickly, but current evidence does not show a clear benefit for recovery from severe COVID‑19. It may be worth exploring in contexts where rapid T‑cell enhancement is desired, but larger, blinded trials are needed before adopting it as a standard protocol for illness or performance optimization.
Summary
A small pilot study gave hospitalized COVID‑19 patients a synthetic version of the immune‑boosting peptide thymosin‑alpha‑1 and compared them to standard care. The treated group showed a faster rise in CD4+ T‑cell numbers, but there was no clear improvement in overall recovery rates, and serious side effects were rare and unrelated to the peptide.
Abstract
Thymosin-α-1 (Tα1) may be a treatment option for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but efficacy and safety data remain limited. Prospective, open-label, randomized trial assessing preliminary efficacy and safety of thymalfasin (synthetic form of Tα1), compared with the standard of care, among hospitalized patients with hypoxemia and lymphocytopenia due to COVID-19. A total of 49 patients were included in this analysis. Compared with control patients, the incidence of clinical recovery was higher for treated patients with either baseline low-flow oxygen (subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.48 [95% confidence interval, .68-3.25]) or baseline high-flow oxygen (1.28 [.35-4.63]), although neither difference was significant. Among patients with baseline low-flow oxygen, treated patients, compared with control patients, had an average difference of 3.84 times more CD4+ T cells on day 5 than on day 1 (P = .01). Nine serious adverse events among treated patients were deemed not related to Tα1. Tα1 increases CD4+ T-cell count among patients with baseline low-flow oxygen support faster than the standard of care and may have a role in the management of hospitalized patients with hypoxemia and lymphocytopenia due to COVID-19. NCT04487444.
Study Information
pubmed
2023
2023-01-11T00:00:00.000Z
10.1093/infdis/jiac362
10
47