?Admittedly the report goes on to say: these features suggest that further evaluation of chloroquine in animal models of SARS-CoV infection would be warranted as we progress toward finding effective antivirals for prevention or treatment of the disease.?
..and so we wonder, why did they not progress further since 2005??
Maybe the upshot of this pandemic is that we will find the cure for ALL cold and flu viruses.
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We definitely need a cure for this sh*t.
Some data for this could be relatively easily collected by data mining. Look at licensure/observational safety studies for Plaquenil (hydroxychlorquine) for respiratory infection endpoints. My guess would be some of this work has already been done.
That being stated, hydroxychloroquine has an adverse event profile that probably would not be appropriate for OTC use by the American public. IF this were a possible therapy, Pharma would likely pursue creating a new follow on molecule (or pull one out of their drawer) AND get some patent life for the indication, starting with prescription only therapy.
Gosh, bitt, I think 'they' have. While our media is trying to suppress information favorable to cures, many foreign nations are touting the efficacy of this malaria treatment, and we are learning {from our media} that this malaria med is even proving useful against some cancers.
The first moment I heard about the French using a malaria medicine I just instinctively felt this was going to prove at least somewhat efficacious against the coronavirus... the same way that I felt that Rush should consider a dog de-wormer called Fenbendazole, or to a lesser extent Levamisole. These medicines block the reproductive abilities of some parasites and apparently can also affect the reproductive ability of some cancer cells.
***Maybe the upshot of this pandemic is that we will find the cure for ALL cold and flu viruses***
That would be great. I wonder how intensive viral research has been in the past. As I have said here, viruses present unique problems, not the least of which is that when you think you have sockoed the viperous cur it manages a mutation that makes it a whole new snake farm. Look at the coronavirus; we are on #19 with no end in sight.
The research we are discussing is considered a possible therapy against the pathogen, but, as you say, progress is unclear in general. Spend millions of dollars to develop a med to crush a bacteria and you are in the chips for years; develop a med to deal with a virus and in a year the virus is thumbing its nose at your profits under a new identity. Add to that the pitfall that the antivirus treatment can attack some of the body's cells and be almost as bad as the original virus.
My impression is that a possible breakthrough is being studied - that zinc in some forms can act as a blocker to some viral penetration of mammalian cells; e.g. Zicam cold med versus rhino viruses. Perhaps some hope can be found there.
I may not be presenting a perfectly accurate picture, but I think it raises considerations when dealing with viruses.
which was my original point in the first place...I somewhat clouded it by going further with semi-useless stuff...