hydroxychloroquine Archives - Amazing Health Advances

An Old Drug with New Tricks: Hydroxychloroquine

The AHA! Team — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 06:24:47 +0000

Medical University of South Carolina via EurekAlert! – The anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine shows promise against cancer, but cancer cells often develop resistance. A new study from MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researchers discovered how, setting the stage for new combination therapies As the hunt for effective cancer therapies intensifies, some scientists are turning back to look at old drugs in a new light. The anti-malarial hydroxychloroquine is one such drug that has been “repurposed” to fight cancer. Despite its effectiveness at blocking the resupply of needed resources to cancer cells, clinical trial results have been disappointing, in part because cancer cells eventually become resistant to the drug. A Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center team led by Joe Delaney, Ph.D., reports in Cell Cycle that resistance to hydroxychloroquine occurs not by restoring the cancer cells’ recycling ability, as had been expected. Rather, resistance develops due to changes in the division, metabolism and export pathways of cancer cells. These findings open the door for new combination treatments, as drugs targeting these newly identified resistance mechanisms can be administered along with hydroxychloroquine to improve outcomes. The promise of repurposed drugs Repurposing old drugs for new treatments is not a new concept. Aspirin was originally used as a painkiller, but after the discovery of its anti-coagulant properties, it was repurposed as a blood thinner to treat heart disease. Thalidomide, the infamous anti-nausea medication, has been recently repurposed as a treatment for certain types of cancer and even leprosy. As cancer therapy moves increasingly toward specific single-protein targets, some scientists, like Delaney, are swinging back to look at preexisting drugs to find robust, multi-target effects. “Targeting single proteins can be extremely effective to treat cancer,” said Delaney. “However, the more specific the treatment becomes, the more likely resistance is to occur.” Imagine a hotel hallway, and behind each door is a route for cancer development. Targeting single proteins is like welding one of the doors shut. It’s impossible to get through that door, but it’s just a matter of time before cancer picks the lock on another door and gets in. That’s why these old drugs are so promising, said Delaney – their breadth of targets padlocks several doors at once, making it that much harder for a cancer cell to work around them. “These older molecules usually work because they have many, many targets within the cell,” he said. “If we can figure out how to use them correctly, it’s harder for cancer cells to mutate all those different points that they are acting on.” The cancer-fighting promise and limitations of hydroxychloroquine Originally used as a treatment for malaria, hydroxychloroquine began to be explored as a cancer therapy in the mid-2000s. The drug is known to block autophagy, a process that essentially acts as a cell’s clean-up crew. Autophagy literally means “self-eating.” It enables cancer cells to gather up old or damaged cellular machinery and send it off either to be thrown out or recycled. “When we think of cancer, we think of uncontrolled dividing cells,” said Delaney. “Autophagy is one of those processes that really enables a cancer cell to do just that by resupplying it with resources needed for survival and division.” Despite the drug’s promise of killing cancer cells by blocking cellular recycling, most clinical trials using the drug have been disappointing. “What we don’t know is why so many of these clinical trials have failed,” said Delaney. “We’re trying to figure out why hydroxychloroquine works or doesn’t work in certain situations in cancer.” A surprising finding about resistance to hydroxychloroquine To answer these questions, researchers in the Delaney Lab embarked on a multi-omics exploration into hydroxychloroquine’s effect on ovarian and colorectal cancer cells. They treated cells with hydroxychloroquine and then used two different whole-genome screens to identify exactly what the cells were doing to evade hydroxychloroquine attacks. With these approaches, they were able to observe how cells activated or deactivated different cellular pathways in response to continued hydroxychloroquine exposure. “By using two completely different methods, we were able to home in on the true biological players in the system,” said Delaney. The researchers were surprised to find that cells weren’t modifying autophagy to survive –the door that was expected to be opened really wasn’t touched at all. Instead, cancer cells were surviving hydroxychloroquine by changing their metabolism, division and export pathways. “We thought the main interaction of hydroxychloroquine with cancer was this process of autophagy, but it appears instead that processes unrelated to autophagy may be the most important for cancer cells to survive this therapy,” said Delaney. Setting the stage for novel combination therapies With this discovery, the Hollings team hopes to identify drugs that could be administered along with hydroxychloroquine to prevent the cancer cells from becoming resistant to this therapy. “Our study has identified the potential mechanisms that we will need to target with a second drug to prevent resistance against hydroxychloroquine,” said Delaney. Combining hydroxychloroquine with drugs that affect cell division, metabolism or export could increase the effectiveness of the treatment. Additionally, using hydroxychloroquine to treat patients with cancers that already have defects in one of these newly identified pathways could be a very powerful intervention. Finally, patients without these defects could be directed to potentially more effective, less resistant treatments. “We certainly want to understand which patients would see the most benefit to get the best result from these trials,” Delaney said. Ultimately, these results from the Delaney Lab shed light on how repurposed drugs like hydroxychloroquine can be used to fight cancer more effectively. Specifically, they show that cancer cells resist hydroxychloroquine in unexpected ways. By using such information, scientists can create more effective combination treatments against cancer. # # # About MUSC Hollings Cancer Center MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is South Carolina’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center with the largest academic-based cancer research program in the state. With more than 150 faculty cancer scientists and 20 academic departments, it has an annual research funding portfolio of more than $50 million and sponsors more than 200 clinical trials across the state. Hollings offers state-of-the-art cancer screenings, diagnostic capabilities, therapies and surgical techniques within its multidisciplinary clinics to provide the full range of cancer care. Dedicated to preventing and reducing the cancer burden statewide, the Hollings Office of Community Outreach and Engagement works with community organizations to bring cancer education and prevention information to affected populations. For more information, visit hollingscancercenter.musc.edu Journal Cell Cycle DOI 10.1080/15384101.2024.2402191 To read the original article click here.

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Hydroxychloroquine + Azithromycin Therapy at a Higher Dose Improved Survival by Nearly 200% in Ventilated COVID Patients

AHA Publisher — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 07:00:14 +0000

Dr. Liji Thomas, MD via News-Medical – Treatment options have been limited in the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Earlier optimism regarding immunomodulatory drugs such as azithromycin (AZM) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) seemed to be undermined by results of large interventional trials. However, a fascinating new study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server (not peer-reviewed*), suggests that such disappointment may have been both premature and unwarranted, based on a re-analysis of over 250 patients on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) during the first two months of the pandemic. Using computational modeling, the use of weight-adjusted HCQ and AZM appears to be associated with a more than 100% increase in survival, without a clear correlation with ECG abnormalities. Study Details In this study, based on a subset of critically ill COVID-19 patients, consisting of patients who required intubation and IMV, data from the medical records were analyzed using several novel methods. This included not only the vital signs and laboratory values but the therapeutic methods. The study was carried out on patients at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, New Jersey, with just over 1% having been clinically diagnosed to have COVID-19. Of the 255 patients, almost 80% died during the study period. Seven patients were transferred to another hospital on the ventilator, mostly after day 40 of hospitalization. Parameters were broadly comparable between survivors and non-survivors, except that all patients with an active malignancy, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and stroke failed to survive. However, sex, race, presentation severity, and blood type had no association with survival chances. A pre-print version of the research paper is available on the medRxiv* server. A preprint is a version of a scholarly or scientific paper that precedes formal peer review and publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly or scientific journal. Laboratory Markers Laboratory markers of inflammation, such as Ferritin, D-dimer, Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), and C-reactive protein (CRP), were above average in almost every patient (96%). While all parameters, except the LDH, were equivalent in survivors and non-survivors, three patients had D-dimer values above 69,000 ng/mL. LDH values were higher in non-survivors by almost 30%. The increase in these parameters over time was characteristically steeper in patients who did not survive. Clinical Complications More than three in four non-survivors developed acute kidney injury (AKI), of which a tenth received renal replacement therapy (RRT). Of this latter group, a fifth survived. Almost 60% of patients were intubated within three days of hospitalization. The time to intubation did not predict survival, but intubation beyond day 15 was associated with survival in only 1 of 16 patients. More than 90% of the patients in this cohort had high blood glucose levels above 140 mg/dL, peak at >200 mg/dL, without corticosteroid therapy. Although none were known to be diabetics, most probably had impaired glucose tolerance before they acquired SARS-CoV-2. This prevalence is higher than in most other studies, probably because the researchers looked actively for hyperglycemia Obesity While half of the patients were obese, and 30% were overweight, the older patients were significantly heavier. That is, 74% of those above 60 were obese, vs 37% of those below this age. The mean body weight was approximately 90 kg, but unlike most antibiotic clinical trials, the range of body weight was extensive. The heaviest patient thus weighed approximately seven times more than the lightest. Notably, blood glucose levels or obesity did not predict a good clinical outcome. Therapeutic Drugs The chief therapeutic classes included steroids, tocilizumab, convalescent plasma, hydroxychloroquine, and azithromycin. Corticosteroids, when given at 6 mg or more, reduced the mortality risk 1.4 times. Meanwhile, the interleukin-6 receptor blocker) tocilizumab had two-fold lower mortality. Convalescent plasma (CP) was used only from week 4, in a fifth of the patients, mostly younger than those who did not receive it. The survival of the group which received CP was almost doubled from CP non-users. HCQ was used in 94% of patients within 48 hours of emergency room arrival, while >55% received 2,000-3,000 mg, cumulatively. Of this number, approximately 63% also received AZM. This combination fell out of favor over the study period based on external recommendations. Effect of HCQ/AZM on Mortality With every log increase in the cumulative dose of HCQ, the mortality rate fell by 1.12 times, such that at 3 g HCQ, survival odds rose by 2.5 times. When given together with AZM, the benefit was still more significant. Chances of survival increased further. Among those who received both > 3g HCQ and >1g AZM, almost half survived, compared to one in seven (16%) among patients who received one of these drugs at the same dosages. This means a 32% absolute difference in survival, or a relative improvement in survival odds of 200%, with the combination of HCQ/AZM at this dosage. This far exceeds the survival benefit cited in any study of any intervention so far. When HCQ/AZM was given at lower dosages, the risk of death was over three times higher relative to the above combination and dosage regimen. When the cohort was divided into patients who received >3g HCQ/>1g AZM and those who did not, overall, the absolute chances of survival were 23% higher for the first group. The 17% survival in the second group would have increased to 39% with the former treatment, predicted the researchers. This indicates that treatment with >3g HCQ/>1g AZM was associated with a more than 130% increase in survival rate compared to any other standard therapy. Weight-Adjusted Cumulative Dosage The researchers also found that when adjusted for weight, the cumulative dose would have a still greater effect. In fact, the average treatment effect (difference in mean survival, in this case) shows a steep increase between 40-50 mg/kg to peak at 46% for a dose of 82 mg/kg. Thus, patients receiving HCQ above 80 mg/kg of HCQ with >1g AZM had 14 times higher survival odds compared to those who did not. If HCQ dosage was fixed at >3g, the odds of survival were 7 times higher, or less than half of that achieved with the weight-adjusted cumulative dosage. “The fact that weight-adjusted cumulative dose has an even greater effect on survival than cumulative HCQ dose is strong confirmation of the causal relationship between this treatment and improvement in survival rate.” Age was another major factor since those older than 60 were five times more likely to succumb than younger patients. Hyperlipidemia was the single comorbidity linked to approximately four times higher odds of death. Interestingly, there was no correlation between the cumulative dose of HCQ (or AZM) and the occurrence of QTc prolongation. In fact, the QT interval began to fall during the period when the cumulative dose of HCQ increased. None of the patients showed torsades de pointes. What Are the Implications? These findings indicate that a steeply rising ferritin, D-dimer and LDH over time predict poor survival, the rate of rise being several times greater for non-survivors. This should be validated to help provide a better prognosis for COVID-19 patients. The extensive range of obesity among critically ill patients indicates that weight-adjusted dosage is critical in achieving the correct therapeutic levels. Moreover, AZM is an independent contributor to improved survival. Most importantly, this is the first clinical study to demonstrate the remarkable benefit of using cumulative doses of HCQ>3g/AZM>1g, compared to those not treated with this combination. Why did such a large effect miss observation? For one thing, HCQ produces its benefit by cumulative effects on the target cells, which is weight-dependent. The failure to treat patients with weight-adjusted doses leads to ineffective treatment and outcomes biased towards lighter patients. HCQ is both safe and tolerable at higher doses, as shown in studies of rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. Such high doses for such long durations have not been used to treat COVID-19. The earlier studies claiming prolongation of the QTc duration with HCQ in COVID-19 treatment are shown to be flawed. Indeed, available data suggests that this finding is due to the underlying illness itself. The investigators also point out: “On April 24, 2020, the FDA issued a warning about the possible effects of low HCQ on QTc interval (47). Since 2010, the FDA has approved over 150 clinical trials, which include HCQ treatment. The FDA did and does not require monitoring for cardiotoxicity. In each of these trials, the total HCQ dose and expected tissue levels are markedly higher than used or seen in Covid patients. This discrepancy lacks logic or explanation.” In this startling study, the investigators carefully re-examined the data, showing that among critically ill COVID-19 patients on IMV, less than 4% “walk out of hospital.” In contrast, the survival benefit of combined HCQ/AZM at a cumulative dosage of >80 mg/kg and >1g, respectively, is shown to be both clear and significant. The safety at such doses is obvious, since survival is increased by almost 130% in this very high-risk population. Moreover, it appears that AZM is an important component of this therapy in terms of mortality reduction. *Important Notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. To read the original article click here.

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Study in American Journal of Medicine Points to Zinc to Combat COVID, and HCQ for ‘Reduced Mortality’

AHA Publisher — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 08:00:38 +0000

Benjamin Gill via CBN News – These days, the primary message about fighting COVID-19 from the mainstream media is about wearing a mask. But there are also some proactive steps that people can take to strengthen their immune system in order to fight or mitigate the impact of a COVID infection. As we know, COVID is in the same family of viruses as the common cold – they’re both types of coronavirus. There have been many attempts to find a means of fighting the common cold, and one of them has been through zinc supplements. Now a study in the American Journal of Medicine confirms zinc could also be a good way to combat COVID. “Zinc is a known inhibitor of coronavirus replication,” the study states. “Clinical trials of zinc lozenges in the common cold have demonstrated modest reductions in the duration and or severity of symptoms.” “By extension, this readily available nontoxic therapy could be deployed at the first signs of COVID-19,” the researchers note. “Zinc lozenges can be administered 5 times a day for up to 5 days and extended if needed if symptoms persist.” “The amount of elemental zinc lozenges is <25% of that in a single 220-mg zinc sulfate daily tablet. This dose of zinc sulfate has been effectively used in combination with antimalarials in the early treatment of high-risk outpatients with COVID-19,” the study explains. Dr. Josh Axe tells CBN News he recommends zinc along with several other supplements to boost your immunity and fight COVID. “I recommend getting zinc, around 30 milligrams a day, Vitamin D at 5,000 IUs a day and Vitamin C at 1,000 milligrams a day,” he said. Dr. Axe also supports using herbal supplements to boost immunity during the pandemic. “I really like Echinacea because of how it strengthens the lungs, elderberry because of how it fights viruses, and astragalus for its immune-boosting properties,” he said. Meanwhile, the study in the American Journal of Medicine also cites antimalarial medications like Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a potential early treatment, saying they can work in tandem with zinc to prevent replication of the virus within the human body. “HCQ is also a zinc ionophore that conveys zinc intracellularly to block the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, which is the core enzyme of the virus replication,” the study states. That’s a lot of medical terminologies, but basically, it means HCQ and zinc can work together to stop the virus from growing inside an infected person. The researchers point out that retrospective studies and randomized trials show that HCQ is not effective if someone has an advanced case of COVID. But, “when started earlier in the hospital course, for progressively longer durations, and in outpatients, antimalarials may reduce the progression of the disease, prevent hospitalization, and are associated with reduced mortality,” the study says. Meanwhile, another new study by Hackensack Meridian Health also shows there may be a benefit to using HCQ for certain COVID patients. Of course, doctors are the only ones who should prescribe medications like Hydroxychloroquine, evaluating the specific risks and needs for each person. There has been a concern in the medical community that HCQ could cause heart arrhythmias for certain individuals. Consult with your doctor before making decisions about drugs or supplements. MUST SEE Super Sanitizing in the Age of COVID: Can You Be Too Clean? To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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Study Suggests Healing Properties of Honey and Nigella Sativa Expedites Viral Clearance in COVID-19 Patients

AHA Publisher — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 08:00:01 +0000

Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc. via News-Medical Net – The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted over 50 million people so far and has claimed more than 1.25 million lives globally. As the virus continues to spread, with many countries experiencing second waves right now, we still do not have an effective vaccine against COVID-19. This makes finding an effective drug to treat the disease very important, and scientists worldwide are racing against time to find therapeutic solutions that will help treat COVID-19 patients. An ideal treatment would speed up symptomatic recovery, decrease viral load, and expedite viral clearance and reduce mortality. Although certain treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, dexamethasone, remdesivir, antibody therapies, and convalescent plasma have shown some efficacy, an effective treatment to fight severe COVID-19 is still not a reality. Keeping this in mind, a team of researchers from various institutes across Pakistan, Chile, Canada, and the USA recently conducted a clinical trial to investigate the potential effectiveness of a combination of honey and Nigella sativa (HNS) in treating COVID-19 patients. Their study is published on the preprint server medRxiv* prior to the scientific peer review process*. Since previous studies show that both components of HNS have proven anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and immune-modulatory effects, the researchers wanted to assess the efficacy of HNS in fighting COVID-19. Healing Properties of Honey and Nigella Sativa Honey has been reported to have beneficial effects against many viruses, including herpes simplex virus (HSV), rubella virus, Hepatitis virus, and Varicella Zoster virus. It is also effective against many multidrug-resistant bacterial strains, especially when used along with antibiotics. In addition to its immunity-boosting effects that stimulate innate as well as adaptive immune responses, honey has been shown to be beneficial in fighting upper respiratory tract infections. Nigella sativa is a medicinal plant commonly known as Black Cumin and has been proven to have anti-viral properties against many viruses, including mouse cytomegalovirus and HCV. In vitro studies have shown that it can decrease the replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Some of its components have a high affinity to many SARS-CoV-2 proteins and enzymes. A Randomized, Controlled Trial to Study the Action of HNS Against COVID-19 The researchers performed a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial in patients with COVID-19 of varying severity. Randomized patients received either a combination of 1 gm/kg/day of honey and 80 mg/kg/day of Nigella sativa or placebo for 13 days. Viral clearance, symptoms, alleviation, and 30-day mortality were some of the outcomes. “The trial results show that the use of HNS in COVID-19 patients promotes viral clearance and reduces the severity of the disease.” Of the 313 patients, part of the study cohort, 210 patients with moderate symptoms and 103 with severe COVID-19 underwent randomization. Among these patients, 107 received HNS, and 103 moderate cases received a placebo. Fifty severe COVID-19 patients were given HNS, and 53 severe cases received placebo. Administration of HNS led to alleviation of symptoms by day 3 in moderate cases and day 7 in severe cases. “Anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, cardio-protective and broncho-dilatory properties of HNS make it even more beneficial in diabetic, hypertensive, cardiac and asthmatic patients who have a higher COVID-19 associated mortality.” HNS could be an affordable, home-based, OTC treatment option for COVID-19 patients The study results show that HNS helped with symptoms alleviation and viral clearance and reduced mortality in patients with moderate and severe disease. According to the team, HNS can be used as a safe and effective therapy in COVID-19 patients as it promotes quicker recovery and survival. Thus, they concluded that HNS represents an affordable therapeutic option and can be used alone or in combination with other therapies to fight COVID-19. Some benefits of this potential treatment option are its ‘over the counter’ availability, affordability – less than $5 for the entire treatment course, and ease of administration as it can be a home-based remedy. Moreover, HNS can also be used in combination with other drugs for increased efficacy. The authors believe that this treatment will significantly reduce the burden on global health care systems. “A multinational study with larger sample size is required to investigate potential variations in responses to the treatment in COVID-19 patients from different racial and ethnic origins.” *Important Notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Journal reference: Efficacy of honey and Nigella sativa against COVID-19: HNS-COVID-PK Trial Sohaib Ashraf, Shoaib Ashraf, Muhammad Ahmad Imran, Moneeb Ashraf, Larab Kalsoom, Uzma Nasim Siddiqui, Muhammad Ghufran, Nighat Majeed, Iqra Farooq, Zaighum Habib, Abubakar Hilal, Zain-ul-Abdin, Ayesha Khaqan, Muhammad Kiwan Akram, Sidra Ashraf, Rutaba Akmal, Sundas Rafique, Khawar Nawaz, Shahroze Arshad, Sohail Ahmad, Kanwal Hayat, Ali Arshad, Muhammad Faisal Nadeem, Muhammad Hassan, Abeer-bin-Awais, Muhammad Azam, Muhammad Suhail, Sibgha Zulfiqar, Imran Anwar, Saulat Sarfraz, Ayesha Hamayoun, Amber Malik, Hui Zheng, Talha Mahmood, Mahmood Ayyaz, Ali Ahmad, Muhammad Ashraf, Qazi Abdul Saboor, Mateen Izhar medRxiv 2020.10.30.20217364; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.30.20217364, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.30.20217364v2 To read the original article click here.

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COVID Doc Says Hydroxychloroquine ‘Highly Effective’ and Fears Are Overblown – Now FDA Chief Admits It Might Help

AHA Publisher — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 07:00:10 +0000

Lori Johnson via CBN News – A Tennessee physician has a message for COVID-19 patients: Use hydroxychloroquine “if you can find a doctor with guts enough to prescribe it.” Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Commissioner Stephen Hahn said some studies “suggest a benefit” to using the drug on COVID-19, despite the fact that the government agency issued guidance stating the use of the drug should be avoided unless it’s being studied in a clinical trial or for hospital use. In a radio interview, Hahn reiterated the fact that doctors are free to prescribe the drug “off label,” and that the FDA “does not regulate the practice of medicine.” Dr. Tom Rogers is one of those physicians who prescribe hydroxychloroquine to his COVID-19 patients. He told CBN News he personally has found the drug to be a “highly effective” way to treat the virus, provided the drug is prescribed in the early stages of the disease and is combined with the antibiotic azithromycin and a zinc supplement. “It’s a very controversial, kind of ‘Trump drug’,” he told CBN News. “There were initially a bunch of studies that said it worked, and then the powers that be came out with some other studies that said it didn’t work. But there are many, many studies and many doctors who I’ve talked to personally, on the front lines that use it all the time and it works.” He continued, “You have to use it very early,” he said. “The studies that said it didn’t work, those were hospitalized patients that were very sick.” He said possible negative consequences of taking hydroxychloroquine are over-blown. “They’re claiming it causes cardiac arrhythmia, which is rare,” he says. “I’ve never seen that. I’ve talked to rheumatologists who’ve used it for decades, they’ve never seen it.” Dr. Rogers says he prefers to prescribe the hydroxychloroquine cocktail to patients with symptoms such as fever, aches, loss of taste or smell, and believes it can prevent a patient from going to the hospital. In addition to hydroxychloroquine combined with azithromycin and zinc, Dr. Rogers said there are other ways patients in the early stages of COVID-19 can avoid landing in the hospital. Those include the inhaled steroid Budesonide combined with azithromycin and zinc. Budesonide is a common asthma drug he prescribes to patients who test positive for COVID-19 and have mild respiratory symptoms such as “cough, wheezing or shortness of breath that’s not acute yet.” Still, neither hydroxychloroquine nor budesonide is recommended by the FDA to treat COVID-19 because their effectiveness has not been proven in randomized, controlled studies, which is the standard requirement for FDA approval. To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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New Hydroxychloroquine Study Proves Trump Right, Says It ‘Significantly’ Cuts Death Rate

AHA Publisher — Sun, 05 Jul 2020 07:00:40 +0000

Benjamin Gill via CBN News – A substantial new study has found that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine helped patients survive COVID-19. In fact, the study from the Henry Ford Health System in Michigan said the drug “significantly” cut the death rate of patients. “Treatment with hydroxychloroquine cut the death rate significantly in sick patients hospitalized with COVID-19 – and without heart-related side-effects,” the health organization reports. Their analysis of 2,500 COVID-19 patients found the drug can be effective if patients received it early in their treatment. “Our analysis shows that using hydroxychloroquine helped save lives,” said neurosurgeon Dr. Steven Kalkanis, CEO, Henry Ford Medical Group and Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of Henry Ford Health System. “As doctors and scientists, we look to the data for insight. And the data here is clear that there was benefit to using the drug as a treatment for sick, hospitalized patients.” President Trump had touted the drug early on as a possible experimental treatment for virus patients, but then studies found conflicting results about its effectiveness and the news media hammered him on it. One of the earlier negative studies was later retracted. Scientists from the Henry Ford Health System explained why their study was successful. “The findings have been highly analyzed and peer-reviewed,” said Dr. Marcus Zervos, division head of Infectious Disease for Henry Ford Health System, who co-authored the study with Henry Ford epidemiologist Dr. Samia Arshad. “We attribute our findings that differ from other studies to early treatment, and part of a combination of interventions that were done in supportive care of patients, including careful cardiac monitoring. Our dosing also differed from other studies not showing a benefit of the drug. And other studies are either not peer-reviewed, have limited numbers of patients, different patient populations or other differences from our patients.” To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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British Medical Journal Retracts Study That Undermined Hydroxychloroquine Efforts

AHA Publisher — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 07:00:06 +0000

Steve Warren via CBN News – The British medical journal The Lancet announced Thursday it has retracted a study that claimed that COVID-19 patients who took hydroxychloroquine had a higher mortality rate and increased heart problems compared with those who did not take it, stating that the authors were “unable to complete an independent audit of the data underpinning their analysis.” Axios reports the study which claimed to have data from 96,000 patients on six continents, led several governments to ban the use of the anti-malarial drug for coronavirus patients due to safety concerns. The Lancet issued the following retraction: “Today, three of the authors of the paper, ‘Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis’, have retracted their study. They were unable to complete an independent audit of the data underpinning their analysis. As a result, they have concluded that they ‘can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.’ The Lancet takes issues of scientific integrity extremely seriously, and there are many outstanding questions about Surgisphere and the data that were allegedly included in this study. Today, three of the authors of the paper, ‘Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis’, have retracted their study. They were unable to complete an independent audit of the data underpinning their analysis. As a result, they have concluded that they ‘can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.’ The Lancet takes issues of scientific integrity extremely seriously, and there are many outstanding questions about Surgisphere and the data that were allegedly included in this study.” — The Lancet As CBN News reported, last month, The Lancet published the article about the study. But the medical journal later said it had concerns about the data that was used in the highly publicized article on hydroxychloroquine. Some of those patients were treated with the malaria drug that President Trump announced he was taking. The president also encouraged others to use it. Following the article’s publication, several clinical trials were put on hold. The study, which used data provided by the healthcare data analytics firm Surgisphere, was not a traditional clinical trial in which hydroxychloroquine would have been compared to a placebo or other drug. The Lancet’s editors noted that serious questions about the study were raised, and an independent audit about the data has already been assigned, according to Reuters. Almost 150 doctors signed an open letter to The Lancet last week, calling the article’s conclusions into question and asking to make public the peer-review comments that preceded its publication. “This is not some sideshow or minor issue,” said Dr. Walid Gellad, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s medical school. “We’re in an unprecedented pandemic. We’ve organized these enormous clinical trials to figure out if something works. And this study stopped or paused a couple of those trials, and changed the narrative around a drug that no one knows if it works or not.” Reuters also reported the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) said it was concerned about the quality of the data behind a different study published in May that also used data from Surgisphere and had the same lead author. As CBN News has reported, several former COVID-19 patients, including pastors, a lawmaker, and several celebrities have said the drug proved effective in their treatment. In April, Pastor A.R. Bernard of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, NY, revealed his harrowing bout with COVID-19 and how the drug cocktail with hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin saved his life. Also in April, Michigan Democratic state Rep. Karen Whitsett personally met and thanked Trump for clearing the way for doctors to prescribe hydroxychloroquine, a treatment she says led to her recovery. “It actually saved my life within a couple of hours – made all the difference in the world,” Whitsett said. Pastor Don Wilkerson, the co-founder of Teen Challenge and the brother of the late David Wilkerson from The Cross and the Switchblade fame, told CBN News his doctor prescribed hydroxychloroquine. Wilkerson says he remembers waking up the next morning significantly better. Actress Rita Wilson also said her fever broke after she took hydroxychloroquine. Wilson and her husband, actor Tom Hanks, were two of the first celebrities to reveal they both had come down with COVID-19 while working on a movie project in Australia. Actor Daniel Dae Kim who’s known for his roles on “Lost” and “Hawaii 5-0” claimed hydroxychloroquine was the “secret weapon” that helped in his recovery from the disease. To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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FDA Approves Emergency Use of Anti-Malarial Drugs to Treat People Infected with COVID-19

AHA Publisher — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 07:00:47 +0000

Steve Warren via CBN News – The US government is giving reserved approval to two new weapons in the war against the COVID-19 virus, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 2,500 in the US and a total of 35,300 people around the world. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cut the red tape to give limited emergency-use approval to use the oral anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat patients infected with the novel coronavirus. In a statement released Sunday night, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced it had received 30 million doses of hydroxychloroquine and one million doses of chloroquine donated to a national stockpile of potentially life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies from the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis. The FDA has authorized the drugs “to be distributed and prescribed by doctors to hospitalized teen and adult patients with the coronavirus, as appropriate, when a clinical trial is not available or feasible.” Clinical trials are still being planned by the National Institutes of Health and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, according to ABC News. There have been questions about the effectiveness of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine since they haven’t gone through official scientific studies. And one shocking case out of Arizona may serve as a warning after an older couple consumed some chloroquine phosphate – an additive used to clean fish tanks. The husband died and his wife was left in critical condition. But France has just given its official approval to use the drug chloroquine to combat coronavirus, so the US isn’t the only country moving ahead with the experimental treatment. Meanwhile, the CEO of the drug company Novartis says hydroxychloroquine is one of the best drugs available to treat the COVID-19 virus. “Pre-clinical studies in animals, as well as the first data from clinical studies, show that hydroxychloroquine kills the coronavirus,” Novartis Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper on Sunday. Hydroxychloroquine, which is also produced by several drug companies, including Novartis’s Sandoz division, is also used in the treatment of arthritis and lupus. “We are working with Swiss hospitals on possible treatment protocols for the clinical use of this drug (against COVID-19), but it is too early to say anything definitive,” added Narasimhan. The drug company had previously promised to give away 130 million individual doses of the drug. “Novartis will work with stakeholders including the World Health Organization to determine the best distribution of the medicine to ensure broad access to patients most in need of this medicine globally,” the company said in a statement on March 20. Research continues on other Novartis drugs as other possible remedies for the coronavirus. These include the multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya and the cancer drug Jakavi. To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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