Radio Doctor – Medicine and Health
July 7, 2022 at 4:05 p.m
The term antibody has also been familiar to the general public since the corona pandemic at the latest. The laboratory determination of it in the blood shows whether you have previously been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus or whether you have responded well to the vaccination. And for some, it was almost de rigueur to know about the current titer.
In fact, without these proteins, our organism would be in a poor immunological state and would be helpless against attacks by viruses or bacteria. Antibodies are part of the specific immune system and are produced, for example in the context of an acute infection, by specialized cells, certain B lymphocytes or plasma cells. Therefore, it is typical for an infection to swell the lymph nodes, where the production of these proteins also takes place. Such immunoglobulins, which are often represented schematically as a Y, fit like a key in the lock of an antigen located on the surface of a putative intruder. Supposedly, because the immune system also attacks harmless substances from the environment (allergy) or even endogenous structures (autoimmune disease) in the event of a disorder.
In recent years, antibodies have also found their way into medicine and have revolutionized the diagnosis and therapy of numerous diseases.
With the possibility of generating genetically modified, identical, so-called monoclonal antibodies, a host of keys can also be produced here that dock appropriately on a desired target structure. This is a great advantage of these substances, which can be recognized by the name suffix -mab (monoclonal anti-body). Because in contrast to other medications, which have a watering-can effect on the entire organism, it is possible to act precisely here. In the case of inflammatory diseases, for example, only certain messenger substances can be blocked instead of shutting down the entire immune system with cortisone.
Cancer cells can also be destroyed with great accuracy without destroying healthy cells, as is the case with conventional chemotherapy. Women with HER2-positive breast cancer, which used to have a very poor prognosis, can now be helped with monoclonal antibodies that bind to this surface receptor. This means that the chance of recovery is even higher than with the other tumor variants. “Here the relationship has actually reversed and we see the potential of this targeted form of therapy,” explains clinical pharmacologist Markus Zeitlinger.
The genetically engineered antibodies are also used in infectiology, for example to treat COVID-19 in high-risk patients or severe cases. Or against clostridial bacteria in case of recurring intestinal infections. These biologics are even used to treat nasal polyps in chronic sinusitis.
The fly in the ointment: Since it is a question of proteins, the antibodies have to be injected. In addition, the costs for such treatments are comparatively horrendous. In this country, the therapies are taken over by the health insurance companies if there is a corresponding indication. Not least from the point of view that the bottom line, by avoiding consequential damage and the progression of the disease, the health system is saved a lot of expenses. In fact, in the case of Crohn’s disease, psoriasis or rheumatic polyarthritis, for example, the use of monoclonal antibodies cannot cure the disease, but its activity can be reduced to a level that is tolerable for those affected.
So-called bio-similars are also increasingly coming onto the market, which, like generics, are significantly cheaper than the original drugs and will make therapy more affordable in the future.
dr Ronny Tekal talks to his guests in the current issue of Radiodoktor about the many possible uses of biologics and the justified or exaggerated hopes that are placed in antibody therapy.
Service
Studiogast:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hilbe
Specialist in hematology and oncology
Head of the 1st medical department – center for oncology and hematology with outpatient and palliative ward
President of the Austrian Society for Hematology and Medical Oncology (OeGHO)
Clinic Ottakring
Montleartstrasse 37
A-1160 Vienna
Tel: +43/1/49150 2103
E-Mail
Homepage
Guests on the phone:
Priv.-Doz.in DDr.in Christina Duftner
Specialist in internal medicine
Managing Director of the Austrian Society for Rheumatology
University Clinic for Internal Medicine VI
Medical University Innsbruck
Anichstraße 35
A-6020 Innsbruck
Tel: +43/50 504 23251
E-Mail
Homepage
associate Prof. Priv.-Doz. dr Markus Zeitlinger
Specialist in internal medicine and clinical pharmacology
Head of the University Clinic for Clinical Pharmacology
Waehringen belt 18-20
A-1090 Vienna
T: +43/1/40400 29810
E-Mail
Homepage
Links
Austrian Society for Rheumatology
Austrian Society for Hematology and Medical Oncology
Informationen über Antikörper (Open-Science, 2021)
Antikörpertherapie bei Krebs (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, 2017)
So wirkt die Corona-Therapie mit Monoklonalen Antikörpern (MDR Wissen, 2021)
Rheumatoide Arthritis: Rätselhafte Antikörper (Dt. Rheuma-Liga 2021)
Biologika-Therapie – Kosten und Nebenwirkungen (Minimed, 2020)
https://www.minimed.at/medizinische-themen/labormedizin/biologika/
Nasenpolypen – können Biologika helfen? (Mein Allergie-Portal, 2021)
Bücher
Melvyn Little
Antikörper in der Krebsbekämpfung: Grundlagen, Prinzipien und Anwendungsmöglichkeiten
Springer, 2015
Georg Weidinger
Das Wunder Immunsystem: Wie es funktioniert & was es stärkt
OGTCM Verlag 2021