University of Georgia researchers say an anti-inflammatory drug commonly used to treat gout could also treat patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infections. The team was led by University of Georgia Professor Ralph Tripp. Researchers say probenecid helped to clear infections several days faster than other FDA-approved drugs used to treat the virus. Professor Tripp says the drug has been in use since 1951.
He says because Probenecid targets the cell, not the virus, it can also be used for other viruses.
Tripp says the most effective treatment is for patients to take 1,000 mg tablets twice a day for five days, but patients showed improvements within three days after contracting the virus.
Ralph Tripp is a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.
