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Biotech / Medical : Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Triffin who wrote (7924)	8/25/2020 1:22:15 PM
From: B.K.Myers	2 Recommendations Recommended By Graystone Moonray Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22882

Ivermectin Why scientists are looking at existing medications to treat Covid-19 4:19 pm on 25 August 2020 snip What we don't know about treating Covid-19 Given the newness of Covid-19 as a human disease, we still face dilemmas in how we should be treating it. "We want a drug that reduces mortality and reduces time in hospital, or reduces the chance of going onto a ventilator," Lewin said. We do not necessarily know that if we reduce the amount of virus in the nose or the lungs, people will get a clinical benefit, she said, or if you stop the virus from dividing when people have really mild disease, whether that will stop them cascading into severe disease. Famous repurposed drugs like antimalarial hydroxychloroquine and HIV drugs lopinavir/ritonavir have shown no benefit in phase III randomised studies, Lewin said. "That doesn't mean those studies shouldn't be done ... it says that those studies really should be done early, get an answer and move on." Lewin is also sceptical of the chances that another headline-grabbing repurposed drug, headlice treatment ivermectin, will work. "[It] doesn't have a favourable pharmacokinetic profile, meaning that in a test tube model you need very high doses to see an effect," she said. "Those doses can't be achieved in people, at least in the current formulation." Part of ivermectin's popularity is because it is easy to use, Lewin said, but she thinks we're past that point now in the pandemic. "There are 150 studies done looking at ivermectin and people are saying 'why not?' ... but I actually think it's a waste of time doing that sort of thing because all clinical trials cost money, all of them require participation of people ... so just because it's easy doesn't mean it should be tested." rnz.co.nz