An alternate zinc ionophore with less side effects is Quercetin [1] [2] which some people here already take for other reasons, myself included. It is most beneficial if being taken prior to infection to slow the RNA transcoding process by getting more zinc into the cells, assuming one is not deficient in zinc to begin with. I mention this because by the time someone is talking to a doctor, the virus has likely already replicated in vast amounts. Chloroquine currently requires a prescription, at least in the U.S. I am neither a doctor or a scientist, as per my profile. Very few doctors study molecular biology as a hobby or as part of their career.<p>[Edit] To be clear, I am not a doctor and this is not medical advise. Please research this topic yourself. There are many studies on nih.gov on zinc ioniphores. Here is a video discussing both compounds by a doctor. [3] They are also not giving medical advise.<p>[1] - <a href="https://examine.com/supplements/quercetin/" rel="nofollow">https://examine.com/supplements/quercetin/</a><p>[2] - <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25050823" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25050823</a><p>[3] - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE4_LsftNKM" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE4_LsftNKM</a>
Warning: chloroquine has strong side-effects, and very high toxicity, unfortunately pretty close to therapeutic doses, that may cause serious arrhythmia, and even heart attacks. Don't ever try to self-medicate with chloroquine.
A word of warning to all who consider stocking up on and self-medicating with Chloroquine: while this is a well-studied medicine, it can have severe side effects, particularly in the eyes (including blindness).
That said, let's hope it has some effect as current anecdata suggests.
I wouldn't say 'take this with a grain of salt', but I also wouldn't brush it off as fake either. Yes, the french study wasn't structured perfectly. But such a trial isn't possible in the timeframe we're looking at.<p>If enough respected virologists (like Didier Raoult) and doctors in China/South Korea see some positive signals, it makes sense to prepare for the event that it does indeed help. Keep in mind, this is already being used as a treatment in the US today. They likely have even better data than we do. Or if they don't, they still feel like it's worth taking a calculated risk on.
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22628302" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22628302</a><p>Derek lowe reviews the evidence here and has far more of a positive take on it than i'd expected. (as in , "not obvious nonsense!")
WARNING: To all those who are reading threads like these and intend to self medicate: you should not do this unless you are medically qualified or have a doctor prescribe you whatever medication might help. The risk of side effects is substantial and there is a reason many countries keep quack laws on the book to go after those who practice medicine without a license.<p>Medical advice should be given by doctors and what works for someone else may not work for you (be ineffective), cause side effects of all degrees of severity. Note that the original title includes the word 'potential'.
To those who aren't aware of it, there was a recently completed (small) clinical study of hydroxychloroquine (and in some cases HCQ plus z-pack) just completed in France. The results are here: <a href="https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Hydroxychloroquine_final_DOI_IJAA.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/20...</a><p>They're miraculous. This is a well-studied, mass-produced drug which has been around for 70 years and appears to be <i>highly</i> effective at treating this virus.
Does anyone know how quickly the production of Chloroquine Phosphate and Hydroxychloroquine can be ramped up (say, to the tune of 500M people * 7g per "course" = 3.5 million kilograms?<p>I tried finding out how much chloroquine is prescribed world wide per year, but couldn't find it. It may give us a clue into how much is already being used.<p>I know that it isn't used except for pregnant women as a malaria treatement because the first line antimalarials aren't proven save in pregnancy, but also that the malaria protozoa has some resistence to Chloroquine in many countries (Ecuador, among others)
Starting back in the 60's, hundreds of thousands of Americans serving in the military and peace corps in areas with malaria were given daily chloroquine for extented periods of time. Think Vietnam. How long does it take to evaluate safety?
I wonder if there is a point where literally everyone just gets a dose of chloroquine. My understanding is it stops the virus replicating and so is almost a preventative rather than a treatment.