by: andrew duffy
for kanata’s sharon charlebois, it all began two days after christmas with a bout of tiredness.
“i thought it was all the shopping and baking and wrapping gifts,” said charlebois, 73. “i was just not feeling well, but i never thought too much of it.”
to be on the cautious side, however, the retired civil servant and school administrator booked a covid-19 test for herself and her husband, leonard. both tested positive on dec. 28.
so began a covid-19 odyssey for charlebois that would land her one week later in the intensive care unit of the ottawa hospital. there, she would enrol in a clinical trial that’s testing the ability of multipurpose stem cells, known mesenchymal stromal cells (mscs), to modulate the immune system’s response to covid-19.
moderating the immune system’s runaway response to covid-19 is key to treating severe cases of the disease.
in severe covid-19, patients develop a condition known as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ards) in which the lung’s air sacs fill with fluid and inhibit the transfer of oxygen to the bloodstream. ards can be triggered by other ailments, including sepsis, and is the leading cause of icu admissions and deaths.
“with covid, it was clear the major problem bringing folks to the icu — and why they were dying — was the effect on the lungs,” said dr. duncan stewart, executive vice-president of research at the ottawa hospital, and one of three ottawa scientists who launched the phase one clinical trial.