pitt911

as a Rheumatologist I have been using plaquenil for 30 years , it is very effective for a variety of auto immune diseases and is one of my favorite drugs
it has excellent safety profile even for extended use
so we will see what the data will look like down the line

Tennyson

Apparently Duke Human Vaccine Institute is also working very hard:

https://duke.mediasite.com/Mediasite...d073cf2974611d

I follow this live COVID tracker and find it quite useful. From the graphs it appears that we are 2 weeks behind Italy. They expect the peak in 4-5 days.

S4to911

We will know soon. I am also in Pittsburgh, and we may know each other (or of each other) professionally.

subwoofer

From what I have read, chloroquine's antiviral properties may result from increased cellular uptake of Zn ions (it is a Zn ionophore). Uptake of Zn ions inhibits RNA polymerase of RNA viruses like SARS-COV and hence viral genome assembly. If viral load is very high already, it is unlikely to be effective. Probably more efficacious during the early symptomatic period after infection with COVID-19 or better still, used as a prophylatic.

https://journals.plos.org/plospathog...l.ppat.1001176

Favipriavir is also thought to inhibit RNA polymerase of RNA viruses although in this case it may be introducing mutations in the viral RNA genone becasue its structure is simialr to uracil.
Also better used when viral load is low.

Thinc2

Why no new cases in China yesterday? What should we take away from that?

S4to911

Are they telling the truth? If so, and I think they are, then that's great news. We are where they were 5 weeks ago, so that tells you something about the course of the epidemic and how long this may last.

We can only hope.

Hothonda

3/19/2020 News Conference....Covid-19

11:47: *TRUMP SAYS FDA HAS APPROVED CHLOROQUINE FOR USE IN COVID-19
11:48: *TRUMP SAYS STILL COLLECTING EVIDENCE OF CHLOROQUINE EFFICACY
11:48: *TRUMP SAYS CHLOROQUINE RISKS LOW AND ARE WELL-KNOWN
12:12: *FDA SAYS IT HAS NOT APPROVED CHLOROQUINE FOR COVID-19 USE
_________________________________________________________________
'15 Jet Black 991TT

Thinc2

Yes, I was hoping some of the doctors on this forum could share their thoughts on the pattern though. And whether we know enough to think that a similar pattern may apply to EU and the US.

subwoofer

China used extreme (virus) suppression measures essentially locking away millions of people and using electronic surveillance to enforce quarantines and lockdowns. We don't know yet what will happen when these measures are lifted and people go back to work. Such a strategy even if effective will not work in the US. Just look the FL beaches. Also just look at Italy today, More deaths than China. We need to be hopeful and abide by CDC guidelines.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020...ther-countries
"The most dramatic—and controversial—measure was the lockdown of Wuhan and nearby cities in Hubei province, which has put at least 50 million people under a mandatory quarantine since 23 January. That has “effectively prevented further exportation of infected individuals to the rest of the country,” the report concludes. In other regions of mainland China, people voluntarily quarantined and were monitored by appointed leaders in neighborhoods."

The-Dream

I have friends who I live in China and they told me it's starting to become normal again, at least for day-to-day living.

moomin

Isn't there serious side effects in the eyes (retinal toxicity)?

sali1980

• Initial French study for chloroquine had data issues on what I read
• Despite Trump claims about malaria drug, it is not FDA approved
  • https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...rus-treatment?
• I would happy if it worked but antiviral medication would work better and calm things as vaccine is a long way off
• New infections in China might be zero but life is not back to normal
  • Multiple temperature checks points for going anywhere
  • Going to grocery stores requires 3-4 temperature checks
  • Schools still closed
  • Most people still working from home
  • Parks have checkpoint again for temperature and only a few people are allowed at a time
  • Any Chinese citizens returning from overseas are automatically quarantined in a separate terminals and location (not at their homes)
  • Restaurants allow seating at every other table and they require your ID, contact details and body temperature
  • Most Americans will not follow lock down guidelines as in China, if you do not follow orders you disappear! Good luck convincing some yahoos here in the US to stay at home as some think its a Hoax.
  • We are still behind in testing which is criminal in my view as tests could identify and control patients faster.
  • The disaster at the airports few days ago where thousands of passengers returning from Europe were clustered together for 4-5 hours is another disaster

S4to911

Only with prolonged use over 18-24 months, if not longer.

S4to911

Again, this is a Porshce 992 forum, but with those caveats:

(1) What exactly are the issues with the French study, if you could explain in more detail? Do you also have issues with the preclinical rationale of the study? Do you have issues with reports of a 100 patient experience in Wuhan where CHLQ reduced hospital stay times for COVID pneumonias and resulted in viral clearance? Why is CHLQ and HCQ part of the current COVID treatment guidelines for China, South Korea, and Belgium, where individuals with COVID 19 mild to moderate symptoms are being prescribed the drug for a week? Are they somehow wrong?

(2) I agree China is not completely back to normal, but apparently the chair of Fedex was on today saying that Chinese service is nearly back to pre-epidemic levels. What do you make of that? The models also suggest that 100% compliance with social distancing is not needed, but 80% may be enough, especially if the families of affected people stay home. Thoughts on that?

(3) Can you name another developed country (other than South Korea, Japan, Singapore, HK, and Taiwan which were burned by SARS a decade ago) where testing is widespread and available? Perhaps you should read a transcript of today's WHO briefing, which suggests that just about nobody else has the capacity for widespread automated testing other than some East Asian countries burned by SARS in 2008.

(4) Kalera (an antiviral AIDS med combo) was a bust in a New England Journal of Medicine article out tonight. The Gilead antiviral drug is interesting, but it is toxic, expensive, hard to administer, and in very limited quantities. It is also not FDA approved.

(5) HCQ is available over the counter in most countries without an MD prescription, and has been used off label in the US for arthritis and other autoimmune conditions for over 60 years. If given proper guidance as to dose and length of treatment by our health authorities, similar to the South Korean and Belgian guidelines, MDs in the US could start prescribing it tomorrow, with the understanding that if the larger trials prove negative, the prescribing could stop. We do this all the time with anti-cancer drugs, as Steve Hahn (the radiation therapist currently running the FDA) knows quite well. This could start literally tomorrow. What do we have to lose? That is what Trump was trying to say, but he's a politician, not a doctor.

In a time like this, one could crawl down in a hole, think negatively about every possible advance, and panic as if the world is about to end. Alternatively, one can take a hard look at the existing data, take a calculated risk with the ability to pull back if it doesn't work, and have hope.

I choose the latter.

S4to911

Who says that doctors on the forum are not commenting on this ?