Israeli Scientists Say Ancient Greek Medicine Could Reduce COVID-19 Deaths

Saffron plant illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Henna)

JAKARTA - An ancient Greek medicine derived from the saffron plant could improve the treatment of people with severe COVID-19, reducing the COVID-19 death rate by 50 percent, according to a report published earlier this month in the European Journal of Internal Medicine by an Israeli researcher from Hebrew. The University of Jerusalem and Hadassah Medical School.

The drug, colchicine, dates back thousands of years in ancient Egypt, where it was known for its special healing properties. It is one of the few drugs that has survived into modern times. More recently, it has been used to treat and prevent inflammation caused by gout that can cause painful arthritis, Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), which is common among Jews of North African descent.

Prof. Ami Schattner researched and analyzed all patients treated in controlled trials of this ancient drug over the past 20 years. He found that, among its uses and potential uses, colchicine also appears to be effective in treating COVID-19, citing The Jerusalem Post Dec. 14.

So far, four controlled studies of about 6,000 coronavirus patients have been published on the effects of colchicine, Schattner said, each showing a "significant increase in the severe coronavirus index and, most importantly, a reduction in mortality of about 50 percent compared to those with not treated with colchicine."

The drug is inexpensive, small doses of half a milligram are required per day, and have been shown to be safe to use, he says, making colchicine "an important discovery that could contribute significantly to increasing morbidity and mortality in many patients, if confirmed in further studies."

The drug is also well tolerated, doctors say. The only side effect in some patients is bouts of diarrhea, about 10 percent of patients stop taking the drug for this reason.

The drug has been tested in the treatment of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, including in Canada, Greece, South Africa, Spain, and Brazil. Many of the tests were double-blind placebo studies, increasing the likelihood of their accuracy.

"The results are very impressive," he said.

Colchicine is first mentioned in an ancient Egyptian papyrus dating to 1550 BC, even before the Jews left Egypt, according to Biblical accounts. Later, it was used by physicians in ancient Greece, in the Byzantine period, and later by Arab physicians more than 1,000 years ago.

Illustration of COVID-19 vaccination in Israel. (Wikimedia Commons/Michal Shamir/IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

About 50 years ago, the use of drugs to treat FMF was verified by researchers at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer and Hadassah, not only against the acute attacks associated with the disease and their prevention, but also in protection against a serious complication of FMF, amyloidosis, which affects kidney.

Recently, several studies have begun to prove its effectiveness in the treatment of acute pericarditis (swelling around the heart, and in the prevention of post-cardiac injury syndrome and atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery).

"As is well known, patients who have had a heart attack have a significantly increased risk of recurrence and stroke, and this is a very large number of patients," said Schattner.

"Studies from the last few years have found, thanks to its anti-inflammatory activity on the atherosclerotic lining of the arteries, that small daily doses of colchicine are able to effectively protect these patients."

“The level of protection is up to the point of preventing about half of the recurrences, and this impressive beneficial effect was also achieved in patients who had undergone therapeutic catheterization, and had taken optimal preventive treatment with aspirin and statins. This is important news for a large number of patients."

When can the drug begin to be used to help COVID patients?

Further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these initial results, according to Schattner, which he believes will likely lead to a broadening of indications for low-dose colchicine. However, he said there was no reason the drug couldn't be started now.

"Although preliminary data on the effect of colchicine on coronavirus patients are very promising, more patients need to undergo randomized controlled trials. However, that will not prevent me from using existing drugs in high-risk patients, in the hope of lowering their chances of seriously ill."

"The drug is cheap for patients and society. By using it on corona patients, we will have nothing to lose and a lot of profit," he concluded.