Oxford starts big trial with “Trump drug” | Abroad

Over 40,000 caregivers in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America participate in the COPCOV study at Oxford University. Participants in the UK and other places around the world take hydroxychloroquine or a placebo, a fake, for three months. In Asia they receive chloroquine or a placebo.

“We really don’t know yet whether the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19 is positive or harmful,” says one of the researchers.

The first participants in the UK are healthcare providers in medical institutions in Brighton and Oxford. They are in close contact with corona patients or people who may be infected with the virus.

Investigations are planned for 25 sites in the UK by the end of June. The results of the study are expected by the end of the year.

Discussion about hydroxychloroquine

Hydroxychloroquine, also called Plaquenil, was developed decades ago as an anti-malarial drug and also for rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune disorders. Studies in China and France have shown that the drug in combination with antibiotics against corona can help, but those studies were too limited to provide evidence. It can cause damage to the lungs and other organs through overuse. A study in the US argued against the use.

While the discussion was still in its early stages, Dutch general practitioner Rob Elens gained national fame for being “opposed” by the Inspectorate. He had prescribed the drug together with a high dose of zinc and an antibiotic to a dozen patients. They all healed. “Hydroxychloroquine should not be prescribed within the regular care against infection with the coronavirus, otherwise there is a shortage for people who really need it,” the Inspectorate told De Telegraaf at the time.

Experts: don’t do it

“There were signs that it seemed to be doing something in mice in the lab. Then we started using it in hospitals. Now the latest state of affairs is that it shows that the drug does nothing against corona, ”Ruud Coolen van Brakel of the Institute for Responsible Medication uses, when asked by De Telegraaf.

Virologist Eric van Gorp and professor Ton de Boer, chairman of the Medicines Evaluation Board, also expressed negative comments about the drug. “Many people now think that the antimalarial drugs would help, but the truth now shows something completely different,” says doctor-microbiologist Marc Bonten. Moreover, it can cause cardiac arrhythmias. That can be dangerous if you are already very ill. ”

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