Good news from the home front. A new drug to combat Covid-19 was announced at the President’s news conference today: chloroquine, a drug that has been previously used (and is therefore available for immediate use) to combat malaria and arthritis.
Here’s one story about it and here’s another. The story says there is a 100% cure rate, and treated patients test free of the virus after six days! Let’s hope this isn’t hype, and praise God for giving us help.
I don’t think it’s hype. The French researcher has a long and well-respected record and the Australian team has had good results also. The UK has just banned export, so they’re keeping theirs to themselves right now. That shows how serious they take chloroquine.
Good side: it’s a drug with known properties and a long track record, already approved and on the market in quantity at a cheap price.
Bad side: it does have side effects and can poison you if you’re not careful, so it’s probably wise to keep it under prescription (and contain panic buying).
My wife already takes chloroquine for renauds syndrome, 200 mg every other day in winter. Lol.
cheers
considers the virus they’re treating is one of the major causes of the common cold
…does this mean we’ll have a cure for the common cold?
So, now that there’s a theoretical treatment to treat one’s theoretical case of the always fatal Chinese five finger exploding lung virus, does this mean everybody can finally calm the [BLEEP] down and stop hoarding all the things, because we’re not all going to die after all?
Ernst, I understand your concern (or I think I do)… If you read the first of the linked articles (which hasn’t been published but is written by reputable scientists) you’ll see that the treatment is more than theoretical. There is data to support it and what’s more important, a basis in molecular biology as to why chloroquin is effective against covid-19.
I guess I should change “is effective” to “might be effective.”
I was being a touch sarcastic.
But only a touch. I’m too irritated about being forced to live an M. Night Shyamalan screenplay to not be just mostly angry about all of this.
Thanks Dr Kurland. Praying a special Rosary today that God guide the scientists to a quick but thorough confirmation of these findings. Note that hydroxychloroquine by itself doesn’t get to the 100% success rate. Three items are needed: the chloroquine, combined with an anti-bacterial drug [admittedly odd given this is a virus and not a bacteria], and sufficient levels of zinc moving from the blood into the cells. The zinc is the specific piece that interferes with the RNA virus replication. The chloroquine is the “key” which allows the zinc (a positive ion which normally can’t cross the cell wall) to get into the cell. The microbiology is laid out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7F1cnWup9M. They’ve actually been looking at how zinc works since 2002 but getting zinc into the cell was the key issue.
Also, zinc and copper levels need to be balanced. Zinc comes from lamb, beef, cocoa, yogurt, spinach, and other such foods. Being very high on zinc is not good if we are low on copper – and vice versa. The ratios are important. Good sources of copper are organ meats, seafood, dark chocolate, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts. (Nutrition info from “Eat Rich Live Long” by Ivor Cummins and Jeffry Gerber). So we need sufficient zinc balanced by copper for this process to actually work…
Thanks, Bob S. in PI. The you tube link was informative and easy to understand. On Fox News tonight a doctor stated that he uses a Z pack with chloroquine successfully when treating patients with serious pneumonia.
David WS
Does your wife have any underlying condition or is Raynaud’s primary? Does she get side effects from the chloroquine?
(My sisters and I have Raynaud’s)
CAM: You are most welcome. I am now wondering about the stockage levels of hydroxychloroquine. I don’t imagine this is used that much in the US and thus there isn’t a lot of it stored up somewhere. I used it before and after my overseas deployments in the military but I don’t expect a large group of civilian users to have created a big demand for this medication. I suspect there isn’t much of it available. Hopefully it isn’t like the other pharmaceutical drugs we use in that over 90% come from overseas producers primarily China and India. We are already bent far over that barrel as it is…
My two boys needed H-Chloroquine for a mission trip to Central America last summer. The doctor prescribed 6 weeks worth: one pill each week.
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The pharmacist was only allowed per insurance to fill 4 weeks at a time. Then I had to go back to pick up the last 2 weeks worth. I can’t remember why I didn’t offer to pay out of pocket and get the whole 6 weeks worth. I don’t remember it being that expensive.
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As it was, the pharmacist had to order pills. He only had just a few on hand (this was a major pharmacy too, not a Mom and Pop pharmacy).
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I expect a run on Cold-eeze, if such has not already happened.
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Fortunately, their mission trip lasted about 2 weeks.
Bob S, thanks very much for the link. The video you linked to is great, explains much about the molecular biology that the papers linked in my post did not, especially the need for Zn2+.
Keep praying.
Thursday, Bayer AG is shipping three million tablets to the USA.
Off topic. I have (finally) embraced the stay-home diktat. I’m not getting dressed. It’s getting pretty ugly in here! I’ll only venture out when the Dewars bottle is dry.
Keep praying.
Bob S in PI, Per a guest MD on Fox last night chloroquine or IS made in the US. Late last I shared your comment/ link with my ER Dr. brother and my older son whose BS included bio-chem, microbiology classes.
Had to laugh at Ernst’s joke about self medicating with a zinc tablet washed down with a gin and tonic. (Tonic has quinine; not sure about the benefits of gin)