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2020-03-24 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

The media wants chloroquine to fail if that will mean that Trump fails

[American Thinker] Very soon after the coronavirus hit America, reports emerged that chloroquine, an older malaria drug, and its analog, Hydroxychloroquine, were helpful against the virus, especially when used in conjunction with azithromycin, an antibiotic. Trump expressed a strong hope that these drugs would effectively treat those with serious coronavirus cases.

The media reflexively struck back. They first accused Trump of lying about the drugs’ potential value. Now that it’s become clear that Trump was accurate, the media have a new tactic, which is to present chloroquine as a deadly drug that will kill more than it cures. For the media, it’s never about the actual issue; it’s always about "getting" Trump.

On Sunday, American Thinker ran Andrew Longman’s excellent summary about chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, and azithromycin. Before reading this post, you might want to refresh your knowledge by reading that article. The takeaway is that these drugs have been around for a long time, so doctors are familiar with them; that there’s an increasing body of evidence that they work; and that the Trump administration got the FDA to allow doctors to prescribe them "off-label" or for "compassionate use" (that is, for a purpose other than treating malaria). (Just two recent examples of successful chloroquine use are here and here.)

On Saturday, Trump tweeted out his hope that Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, when taken together, could save lives. Please note that he didn’t say they "would" save lives, just that they had a "real chance" to change the outcome:

Posted by Besoeker 2020-03-24 07:25|| || Front Page|| [14 views ] Top

#1 Just understand, they're not bad, just plain evil.

Posted by Procopius2k 2020-03-24 08:04|| 2020-03-24 08:04|| Front Page Top

#2 I watched the White House Conona update last evening. The intrent of the hateful 'gotcha' media bastids was quite obvious.

Posted by Besoeker 2020-03-24 08:56|| 2020-03-24 08:56|| Front Page Top

#3 Malicious, reckless, causing great harm. All of it deliberately, knowingly.

These people have institutionalized the practice of libel and slander.

Posted by Lex 2020-03-24 09:06|| 2020-03-24 09:06|| Front Page Top

#4 Just understand, they're not bad, just plain evil.

Not crazy?

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-03-24 10:53|| 2020-03-24 10:53|| Front Page Top

#5 Nope g(r)om, they're evil...down to the bone.

Posted by AlanC 2020-03-24 11:47|| 2020-03-24 11:47|| Front Page Top

#6 I wondered if hydroxychloroquine is related to the old anti-malarial drug quinine. On a web search I read one claim that quinine is too simple so big pharma wants to make a more complex synthetic and thereby make more money. Dunno if that's true or not. I'm still looking. But then I read that tonic water contains small amounts of quinine. So, it may be that gin and tonic is the cure!

Posted by Abu Uluque 2020-03-24 11:56|| 2020-03-24 11:56|| Front Page Top

#7 OK, I found another link which states:

Chloroquine is a synthetic version of quinine, another old malaria drug that is a lot less popular these days. Prior to the end of World War II, the latter was the preferred drug for malaria despite its side effects.

Due to this similarity, some people think tonic water products, such as Schweppes and Canada Dry, might be beneficial against SARS-CoV-2. These beverages contain dissolved quinine, which explains their somewhat bitter taste.

However, there is currently no evidence that tonic water, or quinine, could inhibit the novel coronavirus. This may be because scientists have focused more on chloroquine in their studies.

In fact, the most popular hypothesis of how the natural compound fights malaria parasites takes much from what researchers have observed when studying chloroquine.

Posted by Abu Uluque 2020-03-24 12:03|| 2020-03-24 12:03|| Front Page Top

#8 #5 But they're in the same boat.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-03-24 12:08|| 2020-03-24 12:08|| Front Page Top

#9 And in yet another article:

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are synthetic forms of quinine, which is found in the barks of cinchona trees of Latin America and has been used to treat malaria for centuries.

Some in the wider scientific community have cautioned more research is needed to prove that they really work and are safe for COVID-19.

But French drug maker Sanofi said on Wednesday it was ready to offer the French government millions of doses of hydroxychloroquine, sold under its brand name Plaquenil, in light of a "promising" study carried out by scientist Didier Raoult of the IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille.

Raoult reported this week that after treating 24 patients for six days with Plaquenil, the virus had disappeared in all but a quarter of them.

The research has not yet been peer reviewed or published, and Raoult had come under fire by some scientists and officials in his native France for potentially raising false hopes.

"I'm just doing my duty, and I am happy to see that now eight or nine countries recommend chloroquine treatment for patients with this new coronavirus," he told AFP.

Several clinical trials are also underway in China, where authorities have announced positive results but not yet published their data.

Karine Le Roch, a professor of cell biology at the University of California, Riverside told AFP she was encouraged by recent work in France and China.

"I will say there is a very small number of patients, but if the results are correct, it seems to indeed decrease the viral loads of infected patients," she said.

"It's encouraging but we have to make sure the results are accurate and then confirm that with a larger number of patients."

Scientists understand how these alkaloid compounds work at the cellular level to fight malaria parasites -- but it's not yet known how they are fighting the coronavirus, Le Roch added.

"It's highly possible that this compound is changing the acidity of the cells infected with the virus," she told AFP.

"And then the enzymes that are needed for the virus to replicate cannot work as efficiently as they would work without the drug."

But not everyone is convinced.

Writing in the journal Antiviral Research, French scientists Franck Touret and Xavierde de Lamballerie urged caution, noting that chloroquine had been proposed several times for the treatment of acute viral diseases in humans without success, including HIV.

They added that finding the right dose was crucial because "chloroquine poisoning has been associated with cardiovascular disorders that can be life-threatening."

Posted by Abu Uluque 2020-03-24 12:13|| 2020-03-24 12:13|| Front Page Top

#10 Ref #7: Due to this similarity, some people think tonic water products, such as Schweppes

Much more effective when mixed with a jigger of Isle of Harris.

Posted by Besoeker 2020-03-24 12:15|| 2020-03-24 12:15|| Front Page Top

#11 Quinine

chloroquine

Hydroxychloroquine

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-03-24 12:33|| 2020-03-24 12:33|| Front Page Top

#12 "Some in the wider scientific community have cautioned more research is needed to prove that they really work and are safe for COVID-19."

Folks like Fauci will continue to say there is "no evidence" until there are double blind, placebo controlled studies. That is how their world works. In the meantime, chloroquine is saving lives.

Posted by Iblis 2020-03-24 13:01|| 2020-03-24 13:01|| Front Page Top

#13 Completely agree. Even if it doesn't work, you are certainly no worse off.

Posted by Tom 2020-03-24 13:18|| 2020-03-24 13:18|| Front Page Top

#14 I think the changes were mostly to reduce the side effects and to treat people who had malaria that was quinine resistant.

Posted by KBK 2020-03-24 22:08|| 2020-03-24 22:08|| Front Page Top

#15 Great job on the structure diagrams, grom.

Posted by KBK 2020-03-24 22:09|| 2020-03-24 22:09|| Front Page Top

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