Covid-19: Treatments, Cures, and Vaccines

The dosage necessary to get any benefit against Covid-19 is much higher than the dosages used for other applications.

 

Thanks. Then I am glad I asked because I had not read that or heard anyone actually say that anywhere. Appreciate it.

 

Also, COVID 19 causes cardiovascular problems, and not just from pneumonia. So, the potential side effect risk is increased in COVID 19 patients.

 

Yes. Toxicology 101: sola dosis facit venenum.

 

Exclusive: Russia, after approving Japanese COVID-19 drug, to roll out 'game changer' next week

 

There are those who are claiming the Russians are flat out ignoring Fujifilm's patent on this drug and tweaked it just enough to try and skirt international patent laws and assuming that Fujifilm will not challenge during a pandemic or risk looking like the bad guy. Typically Russian dirty pool.

 

Good Q&A with the Merck's head of infectious disease research. They are into the research a little bit later than some who made early big splashes, but pursuing anti-virals drugs and vaccine candidates as well.

Of note, they are working on an anti-viral that is a pill, and not an injection or IV and one that is not specifically targeted towards severely ill, but would be something for even those with mild symptoms.

Only snippets quoted below.....

How Merck seeks to catch up in the coronavirus drug race

 

BUT......
If it works?

 

Translation for the non-medical, average Joes and Andy's :

"The dose makes the poison" (Latin: sola dosis facit venenum 'only the dose makes the poison') is an adage intended to indicate a basic principle of toxicology. It is credited to Paracelsus who expressed the classic toxicology maxim "All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison."

 

The FDA is evaluating whether or not that is true I believe. Here are the various trials for Avigan. I think that the Japanese government has already approved this for use, but I thought I had read where the results were still inconclusive.

Avigan Antiviral Medication

 

The 60 minutes piece on plasma was interesting. Not all plasm is created equal but the high quality donors plasma had a great record of success with very difficult patients.

Inside a convalescent plasma therapy program treating coronavirus patients

 

I used to work at Merck. Daria is really good.

 

Russia's cure:

 

You mean like china with remdisiver

 

It's not a dangerous drug, per se. However, like all drugs it does have some potential to cause harm, so if you use it in a situation where it gives no benefit, then all you'll get is harm.

IMO we haven't studied HCQ enough yet, and both claims of its efficacy and its dangers are premature at this point. I'd love to see some studies on its use as a prophylactic or as treatment for early/mild cases.

Favipiravir was the first drug touted by the Chinese equivalent of Fauci as efficacious. However, I believe subsequent studies have not supported that. It'll be interesting to see what results the Russians had.

Lol dirty Russians? Try pharmaceutical companies. Altering the drug slightly to skirt patent laws is widely practiced by big pharma. You see, a drug's patent starts when it's development starts. So if you take 9 years to develop a drug that's patented for 10 years, then the developer would have only 1 year to profit from it. So what pharmaceutical comoanies do is to alter the drug slightly, and patent and market the new drug so they can spend 6 months on its development and have 9 1/2 years left over to profit from it.

China didn't even bother to make a slightly different one, they just patented it for a new use since it was originally developed for Ebola. Apparently Chinese laws allow for that. India won't even bother with that. Their laws allow generics to be made for the public good.

 

You laugh, but in the days following Chernobyl, their medical practitioners told the affected to drink vodka as it protected cells against radiation. Sadly, the firefighters of Pripyat died horrific, agonizing deaths anyway.

 

The never ending twists and turns of the investigation into Chloroquine. Kind of pathetic how we so quickly and easily politicized the investigation into this drug resulting in misunderstanding and lack or real clinical trial data about whether or not this drug can provide benefit.

Study panning anti-malaria drug Trump took against COVID faces new questions

 

Operation Warp Speed picking the winners and losers in the vaccine race....

Pfizer, Merck, AZ, J&J and Moderna selected as 'Warp Speed' finalists: NYT

 

Based on what I've read, that study sounds very fishy. I personally would dismiss that study altogether since there is no way to check the accuracy of the data. Not sure how The Lancet decided to publish it when there are such obvious questions.

Well, unusual times call for unusual measures. We might need them all to ensure a plentiful supply. If more than one come up with a successful vaccine we'll at least still have some competition which will hopefully drive the price down. If they charge tok much, hopefully Trump can use the defense acquisition act again to force them to provide it at a reasonable cost. Our entire economy is potentially on the line.

 

More and more great research and study that has been going on in the background. Far too early for conclusions, maybe even too early to even know if this even holds water, but I find the concept of organized, regulated studies at least interesting as someone who has been on the lowest dose Amlodipine Benazepril since I was 50.

Also interesting that in early on there were stories that claimed people in these drugs were more likely to develop severe complications.

Cannot wait for more research on this one.

Calcium channel blocker amlodipine besylate is associated with reduced case fatality rate of COVID-19 patients with hypertension