Anti-inflammatory drugs can worsen a viral infection, potentially making it lethal.
The drugs could be one factor that explains why some people suffered worse from infections such as the Covid-19 SARS-CoV-2 virus, influenza A and adenovirus, which affects the respiratory tract.
A special class of anti-inflammatories—the JAKs (Janus kinase inhibitors), which are routinely prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis and general inflammation—weaken the immune system’s defences and allow viruses to spread through the body.
The drugs switch off genes that fight a viral infection, say researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. “The drugs suppress an important immune signalling pathway that helps protect healthy cells from viral attacks,” Eerkend Ravlo, one of the researchers, explained.
When JAK inhibitors interfere with this immune signalling system, they weaken an important layer of antiviral protection, and without the usual defensive response, viruses may find it easier to establish an infection and spread between cells.
People who already have a viral infection should think twice before taking a JAKs anti-inflammatory, the researchers say.
JAKs anti-inflammatories are very commonly prescribed, and they include drugs such as AbbVie’s Rinvoq (upadacitinib) and Incyte/Novartis’s Jakafi (ruxolitinib).
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