What about hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19?
Although in the news a lot lately, there's been some push-back against its promotion due to the potential for side effects that can be severe.
Yet, severe side effects are relatively rare for hydroxychloroquine. So, one has to weigh the potential benefits vs. the risks. If one is headed toward ventilator support due to COVID-19, which has a fairly high death rate, one might be tempted to consider at least trying something that may work, like hydroxychloroquine, despite the relatively smaller risk of severe side effects.
The only real question is, does hydroxychloroquine provide any benefits for COVID-19 patients? Well, at this point anyway, the answer to that question is a definite maybe - especially when zinc is added (hydroxychloroquine is a "zinc ionophore" - see video link below by Dr. Roger Seheult for more details as to why this is important). Some small studies suggest that it is beneficial while others do not (not necessarily combined with zinc supplements). Larger more definitive studies are still pending.
“Anyone who tells you these drugs work, or don’t work, is not basing that view on science,” said David Juurlink, the head of the division of clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto. “There’s reason to be optimistic, and there’s also reason to be pessimistic.” (4/3/2020)
Then again, there's been some very interesting anecdotal observations as well. For example, Dr. Anthony Cardillo said he has seen very promising results when prescribing hydroxychloroquine in combination with zinc for the most severely-ill COVID-19 patients.
"Every patient I've prescribed it to has been very, very ill and within 8 to 12 hours, they were basically symptom-free," Cardillo told Eyewitness News. "So clinically I am seeing a resolution" (April 6, 2020).
Cardillo is the CEO of Mend Urgent Care, which has locations in Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys and Burbank.
Dr. Cardillo said he has found it only works if combined with zinc. The drug, he said, opens a channel for the zinc to enter the cell and block virus replication (Note: there is also a nutritional supplement called Quercetin that is a zinc ionophore, like hydroxychloroquine, but requires no prescription.
It’s interesting that there has been a great deal of research done on elderberries as an antiviral agent. It turns out that elderberries, red grape juice, and blueberries all have high amounts of Quercetin. It may be likely that the high Quercetin content of these foods is the reason for their measurable anti-viral properties. So what would be better than supplementing zinc and Quercetin together to elevate intracellular zinc levels in order to inhibit viral replication? Especially given that Quercetin has fewer side effects compared to hydroxychloroquine? Quercetin has been safely used in amounts up to 500 mg twice daily for 12 weeks.). Link.
For more details as to the biochemistry of how hydroxychloroquine + zinc might help treat COVID-19, consider the following MedCram video put out by pulmonologist Dr. Roger Seheult:
In the meantime, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EMA) allowing patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who are unable to access a clinical trial to be prescribed hydroxychloroquine. Given what we currently know, and don't know, it's hard to definitively say that no one who is headed for severe COVID-19 symptoms should ever try hydroxychloroquine... or that the potential risk/reward ratio clearly isn't worth it.
“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2).
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Dr. Sean Pitman, a graduate of Loma Linda University and City of Hope National Medical Center, is an anatomic and clinical pathologist with a subspecialty in hematopathology.
Since 2006 he has also been personally involved with trying to address the problem of a Seventh-day Adventist school, La Sierra University in particular, promoting theistic/mainstream evolutionary theories as the true story of origins in science classrooms – directly undermining the clearly stated “fundamental” position of the SDA Church on a literal six-day creation week. He has twice been invited to speak at LSU, at the sponsorship of student organizations, to address the conflict between Creation and Evolution and has been very active in the current controversy with LSU over this issue. You can view his website at www.DetectingDesign.com. Sean also operates the Educate Truth website.
