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Drug used to treat head lice could reduce the risk of death from hospitalized Covid patients by up to 80%, study finds.
Ivermectin, a prescription-only drug that can cost as little as £ 1.50 for treatment, has also cut the time taken to care for critically ill patients in half.
Dr Andrew Hill, the University of Liverpool virologist behind the analysis, said the drug could be ‘transformational’ in the battle against the virus.
But other scientists were skeptical of the discovery, saying more data would be needed before it could be used as a potential treatment.
They pointed out that other drugs, such as hydroxychloroquine and tocilizumab, showed great promise in early trials, only for scientists to find they had no benefit.
The results of 11 studies suggest that ivermectin – used to treat head lice – may help protect patients with coronavirus. Scientists issued a note of caution, however, and said more research was needed.
Slides released prior to the study’s publication reveal only eight of the 573 Covid-19 patients who received the drug, compared to 44 of the 510 who did not.
They also suggested that the drug could speed up the removal of the virus from the body. The Egyptian study involved 100 patients with moderate symptoms who received the drug and 100 patients with severe symptoms who received the drug. The same number was used for the control group. In the Bangladesh study, 72 Covid-19 patients were involved
Ivermectin was discovered in the 1970s and quickly became an essential drug for a large number of parasitic infections, such as head lice and scabies.
It is branded as Stromectol, an oral tablet for scabies, and Soolantra, a skin cream for rosacea. It is named Sklice for the treatment of head lice, which was approved in the United States this year.
Today it is prescribed on the NHS and in the United States for these conditions, but some scientists say it could be helpful against Covid-19 as well.
Scientists studying the drug believe it works by paralyzing the SARS-CoV-2 virus and “overwhelming its nervous system”, to prevent it from replicating.
In slides released ahead of the study’s publication next month, the scientists behind the research combined the results of 11 trials of the drug involving more than 1,400 patients.
This found that only eight of the 573 Covid-19 patients who received the drug died, compared to 44 of the 510 who received a placebo.
The time it takes to get rid of the virus from the body was also faster when ivermectin was taken, two studies included in the research suggested.
In a trial in Egypt, 100 patients with mild symptoms cleared the virus within five days, on average, of receiving the drug. For comparison, the figure was around 10 days per 100 patients who did not receive the drug.
And in 100 patients with severe symptoms, they withdrew Covid within six days of receiving the drug, on average, compared to 12 days for the 100 control patients.
Similar results were also seen in a study conducted in Bangladesh.
The studies were carried out primarily in developing countries – notably Bangladesh, Argentina and Egypt – and the research was commissioned by the World Health Organization.
Patients received ivermectin doses of between 0.2 and 0.6 mg / kg, but in one study they received up to 12 mg.
Early analyzes suggest the drug may help patients with the virus, but scientists have further cautioned against these findings.
The compared studies used different doses of ivermectin, time intervals, and differed in how they treated their control groups.
Some were double-blind – the “gold standard” – meaning that no volunteer knew who was receiving the drug, and others were open-label, meaning participants knew whether they were receiving the drug or a placebo. .
“If we see these same trends seen consistently in other studies, this is really going to be a transformational treatment,” Dr Hill said in the presentation.
The trials involving 7,100 additional participants are expected to be published in the coming months, with three more expected to be published in January.
The study considered data from 11 trials involving more than 1,400 patients, mostly in developing countries. It will be released next month. Above, the number of patients in the trials included in the study by country
The researchers said more studies on ivermectin are expected to be published in the coming months. Above is the number of participants in all trials involving ivermectin – published and ongoing – by country
Ivermectin has proven to be controversial in the scientific community, with some researchers viewing it as another ‘miracle’ treatment.
University of Sydney chief pharmacy professor Andrew McLachlan said in August that there remained ‘enormous uncertainty’ about whether the treatment was safe and effective in combating the coronavirus’ despite favorable headlines. ”
“All we have are observational studies and the opinions of clinicians,” he said.
“Many of the current studies have small numbers of participants, weak study designs, and inconsistent (and relatively low) ivermectin regimens, with ivermectin frequently being given in combination with other drugs.
Side effects of the drug include swelling of the feet, constipation, and inflammation of the eyes.
Many fear she is following the path of hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug, which US President Donald Trump has touted as a game-changer.
But leading scientists were quick to point out that the effectiveness of drugs against the virus remains to be proven.
More recent studies have concluded that it does not help patients with the virus.
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