Episode 64: Michael Peluso, M.D. – Viral reservoirs & MAB trial

Michael Peluso M.D., an infectious disease clinical-translational physician-scientist at UCSF, has been studying Long Covid patients since the start of the pandemic.  Along with Steven Deeks and Tim Henrich, they enrolled their first patient into the LIINC study on 21st April 2020 and have not stopped working to make progress understanding the pathogenesis of, and potential treatment for, the disease.

Peluso and the team have recently used multimodal molecular imaging on a small sample of Long Covid patients which has confirmed their belief that there is a reservoir of viral RNA in the tissues.  The paper is currently in pre-print awaiting peer review.

With the knowledge gained from tracking patients for three and a half years and the confirmation of viral reservoirs, Peluso has now launched one of the first and most exciting clinical trials for Long Covid, outSMART-LC .  The trial will assess whether monoclonal antibody treatment (MAB) can be effective in clearing the viral reservoir from the tissues.