Immunomodulators are drugs that affect the immune system or participate in its functioning. There are a large number of similar drugs on the market, but a large number of drugs that are attributed to the properties of immunomodulators are not such. Head of the herpes center of the International Research Center of Moscow State University, candidate of medical sciences, told socialbites.ca that the use of such drugs is dangerous to health. MV Lomonosov, director of the Research Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Infections, immunologist-allergist Georgy Vikulov.
“There are quite a lot of immunotropic drugs, but a large number of drugs that are attributed to the properties of immunomodulators are not such. That is, some manufacturers have a postscript that the drug has immunomodulatory and immunostimulating properties, but this is often not proven in terms of the requirements of evidence-based medicine,” said the expert.
For example, preparations based on antibodies to gamma interferon are homeopathic medicines that do not have pharmacokinetic data, but they are also considered “releasing active molecules”.
“Accordingly, their distribution in the body cannot be measured precisely and their mechanism of action is not yet fully known. Then we cannot say exactly what changes this drug causes, which receptors it binds to, whether it affects the functioning of cytokines. These drugs have a questionable evidence base. According to experts, there are more than a hundred such drugs that do not have a serious evidence base. Most often this is a homeopathic medicine, which is attributed immunomodulatory properties to create demand,” explained Vikulov.
According to the expert, the use of a substance whose effectiveness and safety is unknown may lead to unpredictable reactions. In addition, there is a dose-dependent effect for many known substances and drugs; This is true for vitamins, for example. Vitamins A and D can have both immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive effects depending on the dose, the same is true for medications.
Read more about what immunomodulators are, what groups of similar drugs exist, how they are used and whether their use is dangerous – in material “socialbites.ca”.
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