Trump: We're Preparing to Approve Off-Label Use of the Anti-Malarial Drug Chlorequine (or Hydroxychloroquine), Which Has Been Found to Greatly Reduce the Infectiousness of Coronavirus Carriers

Chloroquine has been around since the 70s. Hydroxychloroquine is a variant which is thought to be more effective than chloroquerine.

Although chloroquine has been approved by the FDA, and, presumably, does not have very serious side effects, it has not been approved for use against the Chinese virus, because it's never been tested for that yet. But the FDA is going to greenlight for "compassionate use," meaning doctors can legally prescribe it as an experimental drug.

And, I think: Meaning that doctors will be required to collect data on the patients so treated, and report it to the FDA, so that they will have the data to determine if this is an effective treatment, or an ineffective one, or a potentially dangerous one, etc.*

It's been found effective in fighting coronavirus in both China and France.

The French study found that chloroquine was even more effective when combined with the antibiotic azithromycin.

"(W)e predict that the drug has a good potential to combat the disease," the study’s authors, most from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, wrote in a letter published in Cell Discovery on Wednesday, according to the report.

Now, French physician-researchers have completed a largely successful clinical trial using the drug -- approved for use in the US in 1955 -- to treat confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to a study published Wednesday.

A total of 36 patients -- including 20 treated individuals and 16 infected controls -- were enrolled in the study, led by Didier Raoult, an infectious disease expert from l’Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire in Marseille.

The treated group was given 600 mg of Plaquenil each day.

The researchers found that 50 percent of the treated group turned from positive to negative for the virus by the third day -- and by day six, that figure was up to 70 percent.

Of the 20 test patients, six who were treated with both Plaquenil and the antibiotic azithromycin showed impressive results with five testing negative at day three. All six of them tested negative at day six.

Per this French report right, at least one drug producer is ready to deliver millions of doses.

The French laboratory Sanofi called itself ready, Tuesday March 17, to offer to the French authorities millions of doses, which could potentially treat 300,000 patients.

The French study also noted that the control group remained 90% infected:

At the end of six days of treatment with Plaquenil, only 25% of patients were still carriers of the virus, while 90% of those who did not receive the treatment were still carriers.

Meanwhile, in the American center of the outbreak, Washington (and Seattle specifically), infection rates are slowing. This may suggest that "social distancing" and working from home were indeed effective at stopping the spread of the disease, and that we might be about to bring this Chinese Dragon under control.

Melissa Clothier had a tweet pointing out rare side effects of chloroquine, which included irreversible macular degeneration.

One word about listed side effects, though: The law requires any bad health outcome to be listed as a side effect whether it was the result of the drug or not. This is why you hear that the side effects for an anti-depression drug may include suicide or thoughts of suicide.

Yes, those were bad health outcomes noted by people using the drug. But remember: They were clinically depressed before the prescription of the drug.

Do anti-depressants cause some people to have depression? Sure, I guess. Brain chemistry is mysterious and everyone's brain its own little unique ecosystem.

But it seems likelier that most depressed people who experience suicidal thoughts while on an anti-depressant are just suffering the same depression that led to the prescription of the drug in the first place.

So I don't know if these rare side effects are the result of the drug or just something that the people it was prescribed to either already had or contracted while taking the drug.

Moki's Report:

66 This is the medication my kid is on for her auto-immune disease. She has been sick and catching everything for years. YEARS.

She has not had an infection or even an elevated temp since she started the med. Much less fatigue, and has been able to start exercising.

I hope this helps others as much as it helped her, because it is not expensive at all. A very cost effective measure.
Posted by: Moki

* Commenters pointed out that doctors prescribe drugs for off-label uses all the time, so they wouldn't need some special permission here. I think that's right, I think the FDA guide added that the "compassionate use" designation would require tracking of patients' data so that chloroquine's effectiveness as an experimental drug (for this purpose) could be scientifically evaulated.

posted by Ace at 03:14 PM

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