Coronavirus is said to stop corrosive agents in just 48 hours – naturopathy & naturopathic medicine specialist portal

Already approved itch remedy is said to stop novel coronavirus within 48 hours

Scientists in all parts of the world are researching new drugs against the spread of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19 pathogen). As a result, reports are rolling over that certain active ingredients could stop COVID-19 disease. Scientists at the “Monash University” in Melbourne (Australia) said that they had made good progress with an already approved drug that is actually used for scabies and head lice.

Ivermectin is said to stop the coronavirus from multiplying

Several clinical trials are currently underway to test possible therapies against COVID-19. One of these studies has now shown that the ivermectin drug can inhibit the proliferation of SARS-CoV-2 viruses within 48 hours. The medicine is actually used in the treatment of head lice, river sickness and scabies. The ingredient is classified as a “macricyclic lactone”.

Viruses reduced after only 24 hours

The director of studies Dr. Kylie Wagstaff of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute reports that the drug ivermectin can stop the growth of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in cell cultures within 48 hours. “We found that a single dose can remove essentially all of the viral RNA within 48 hours and that there is a really significant reduction even after 24 hours,” said Dr. Wagstaff in a press release on the new study results.

Already approved drug

The fundamental problem in research is that a drug approval process takes a very long time. For this reason, researchers are concentrating primarily on drugs that have already been approved, as they would be available promptly. Ivermectin is an FDA approved anti-parasitic. The drug has already been proven that “it is also effective against a wide range of viruses such as HIV, dengue, influenza and Zika,” said the research team in the specialist magazine Antiviral Research.

Study not yet tested in the organism

However, Dr. warned Wagstaff that the tests performed in the study were carried out in vitro and that studies on humans still had to be carried out. In vitro (Latin ‘in the glass’) refers to organic processes that take place outside a living organism, in contrast to those that take place in the living organism (in vivo). Therefore, the first results are hopeful, but not to be finally assessed.

Next step: studies in the living organism

The next step is now a large-scale study on human subjects. “Ivermectin is used very often and is considered a safe drug. We now have to find out whether the dosage that can be used in humans is also effective, ”reports Dr. Wagstaff.

“In times when we have a global pandemic and there is no approved treatment, a connection that is already available worldwide could help people earlier,” Wagstaff said. Realistically speaking, it will take a while for a vaccine to become widely available. Prof. Christian Dorsten already mentioned in the daily Corona update podcast on NDR Info that a vaccine would not be ready for the market until 2021 at the earliest.

Although the mechanism by which ivermectin acts on the virus is unknown, given its effects on other viruses, it is likely to inhibit the virus’ ability to outsmart the cell’s defenses. Wagstaff.

Virologists involved in the study

Dr. Leon Caly of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, a senior medical scientist at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) ​​at the Doherty Institute, where the experiments with living coronaviruses were carried out, is the lead author of the study. “As a virologist who was part of the team that first isolated and shared SARS-COV2 outside of China in January 2020, I am excited about the prospect of using ivermectin as a potential drug against COVID-19,” said Dr. Caly.

An antiviral effect was already demonstrated in 2012

An antiviral effect could already be demonstrated for ivermectin in 2012. Dr. Wagstaff and Professor David Jans from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute have been researching the viral properties of the drug for ten years. Therefore, when the SARS-CoV-2 virus broke out, the scientists began to investigate whether ivermectin could also have an effect here.

Further clinical studies necessary

The use of ivermectin to combat COVID-19 would depend on the results of further pre-clinical tests and ultimately clinical trials, with urgent funding needed to continue the work, emphasizes Dr. Wagstaff. It is therefore still unclear whether and when the research work will continue. (Sb)