Dr Ogunsalu’s research team ready to help India

WESTERN BUREAU:

Alarmed by the devastating stranglehold the COVID-19 pandemic is having on India, where deaths are mounting at an alarming rate and the health services are buckling under pressure, Dr Christopher Ogunsalu, who is part of a multinational team of researchers, and who is claiming a breakthrough in the treatment of the coronavirus with menthol crystal, says they stand ready to help India.

“Based on the studies we have done with menthol crystal in treating persons who had the coronavirus and have now fully recovered without any other medical intervention, we believe the suffering people of India need to be exposed to this method of treatment,” said Ogunsalu, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona. “We will be seeking to make contact with the Indian High Commission here in Jamaica to formally make our offer.”

The research team, which comprises medical doctors and dental professionals from the United States and Cameroon, includes Jamaicans Dr Christopher Ogunsalu; Dr Delroy Fray, clinical coordinator at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay; Dr Dagogo Pepple, senior lecturer in physiology at the UWI; Professor Everald Barton, professor of medicine and nephrology at the UWI; Daniel Ogunsalua, student at UWI; Dr Olalekan Fagbola, principal medical and health officer of Princes Town Regional Corporation in Trinidad and Tobago; Professor Ken Judy, the United States-based co-chairman and CEO of the International Congress of Oral Implantolgists, the world’s largest provider of continuing dental implant education; and Mike Agbor, a renowned medical professional from Cameroon.

According to Dr Ogunsalu, no financial component is attached to the offer because, as scientists, their motivation is about using their evidence-based methods and multifaceted research to the benefit of mankind.

“The coronavirus is a very serious virus. It has killed many people all over the world. Our aim is to play our part in helping to stop this virus in its tracks so that the world can return to normal as soon as possible,” he said.

Based on their research, which dates back to April-May 2020 but was delayed as they await validation, the team discovered that menthol crystal fumes attach to the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract in the form of micro spikes, or cilia (pseudo-cilia). It is this pseudo-cilia, or spikes, that prevent the binding of the S protein of the COVID-19 virus to the ACE-2 receptors on the human cells, thus preventing a successful invasion into the body by the virus.

“The mode of action of the COVID-19 virus relates to the interaction of the spiky microparticles released from the menthol crystal into the environment. Once these spiky particles interact with receptors in the nasal mucus membrane, they prevent the spike protein of the COVID-19 virus from attaching to the already-occupied receptor site,” Ogunsalu explained.

Based on the latest information out of India, the country has had some 18 million documented cases of the coronavirus, with more than 201,000 deaths. With its daily infection rate higher than anything seen in any other country since the onset of the pandemic, several countries, including the United States, are coming to their assistance.