Ivermectin: research to verify the effectiveness of the drug against coronavirus

[-] movethroughit | 2 points | Jul 15 2020 01:00:33

The question has been raised as to whether Sars-cov-2 actually does use importin, but I haven't found any proof either way.

[-] Murky-Lengthiness | 1 points | Jul 15 2020 02:24:40

I do not buy the importing hypothesis, please see the zinc ionophore hypothesis in the in other post. The Mexican team that worked on that hypothesis (starting from December) has come up with tens of equally effective options (in fact metronidazole is much better than Ivermectin).

[-] TrumpLyftAlles | 1 points | Jul 16 2020 21:42:48

The Mexican team that worked on that hypothesis (starting from December) has come up with tens of equally effective options (in fact metronidazole is much better than Ivermectin).

Evidence please? Link(s).

There are no trials looking at metronidazole .

[-] Murky-Lengthiness | 2 points | Jul 17 2020 11:04:06

Exactly, this team is postulating molecules not even in the radar yet, wait a few weeks for metronidazole to become known as a possible treatment (and many other zinc ionophores).

[-] TrumpLyftAlles | 1 points | Jul 17 2020 18:21:01

wait a few weeks for metronidazole to become known as a possible treatment

And how long for the trials? I think the trial rose has bloomed. Finding subjects will be increasingly difficult in most places. I'm not sure there's attention span or patients or patience to wait for trials for yet another candidate. Could be wrong, of course.

[-] fieldsofcoral | 1 points | Jul 14 2020 19:08:05

200 person RCT in Brazil, preliminary results expected in 3 months.

English text:

Approved for use in humans in 1987, ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that has had mass use certified by the World Health Organization ( WHO ) as a treatment for onchocerciasis, a common disease in regions of Africa and popularly known as river blindness. Now the drug is investigated as an antiviral to fight coronavirus

Here in Brazil, a group of researchers is preparing to put into practice a study to test the effectiveness of the drug in the treatment of covid-19.

Published in early April in Antiviral Research, a study carried out in Australia found that the use of the drug reduced the viral replication of sars-cov-2 in cell culture, that is, in vitro. Although it has shown promising results, such as antiviral against the covid-19 virus, the authors themselves highlight the importance of further investigation to attest the benefits in humans.

This is exactly what a randomized clinical trial, proposed by the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), in conjunction with Santa Casa de Porto Alegre and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), aims to: verify the effectiveness of this drug in transmissibility and in the treatment of covid-19 in health professionals. Approved by the National Research Ethics Commission (Conep), the research has the participation of specialists from Pernambuco, Ceará, Goiás, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul.

The initiative to investigate ivermectin against the coronavirus came after some observations by researcher Denia Fittipaldi Duarte and by the doctor and general coordinator of the trial, Taciana Padilha de Castro. Taciana, who has experience in using the drug as an antiviral to fight chikungunya fever, explains that the drug appears to inhibit the virus from entering the cell, which, consequently, would prevent its replication.

The mechanism of action by which ivermectin acts as an antiviral appears to be related to blocking the entry of the virus into the cell nucleus, through the inhibition of an intracellular protein, importin. She is responsible for transporting sars-cov-2 to the host cell nucleus, where the virus will use the cell's machinery, necessary for its replication - he says.

From the project, says Taciana, it will be possible to clarify whether ivermectin, in the proposed doses and frequency of administration, would be effective in improving the disease and / or reducing the transmissibility of the virus.

We will have three protocols with the use of ivermectin: two to study transmissibility, with 700 participants, and one to study the treatment, with 200 covid-19 patients - details the doctor.

However, after being submitted to CNPq-MCT, the project was not awarded any financial resources. Thus, it only relies on the investment of the researchers themselves and the private sector. Due to the lack of resources, the trial will initially investigate only the action of the drug in the treatment of covid-19.

We hope to count on the support of other companies and industries that want to participate through donations so that we can develop the project in full of the proposed objectives, which is to evaluate the role of ivermectin in the treatment and transmissibility _ concludes Taciana.

RS will also test medicine

With central coordination at UFPE, the trial will have a gaucho arm, led by infectologist Cláudio Stadinik, from Santa Casa de Porto Alegre. Stadinik recalls that ivermectin has been researched in several places and on the most diverse fronts: from critically ill to less severe patients. He adds that, in addition to being cheap, the drug has a tolerance profile considered good.

Side effects are few, much less than those of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine . To find out if it has an effect, the only way is with a clinical trial - he evaluates.

The trial is due to begin in the next few days, and preliminary results are expected to be released three months after the start of testing.

[-] Murky-Lengthiness | 1 points | Jul 15 2020 02:18:25

Please see the post about ivermectin as a zinc ionophore

[-] TrumpLyftAlles | 1 points | Jul 16 2020 21:40:35

Perfect title, thanks! :)

[-] Murky-Lengthiness | 1 points | Jul 20 2020 12:40:54

In Ivermectin they are just around the corner