When this all started I found this website.....
This website soon disappeared.
Investigational Treatments
Currently, there are no FDA approved treatments for COVID-19.
Update: Antiviral
Trio Shows Mettle Against COVID-19 May 8, 2020
Update: Lots
of Drugs Are Being Tested Against COVID-19 -- But Will Any Work? April 23, 2020
Update: The
Lowdown on COVID-19 Treatments April 21, 2020
- Baricitinib Phase 3 studies are in progress to determine the effectiveness of a Janus kinase
(JAK) inhibitor called baricitinib (marketed
under the brand name Olumiant for the treatment of rheumatoid
arthritis) in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
- Bemcentinib An AXL kinase inhibitor called bemcentinib has
been fast-tracked in a UK Phase II clinical trial to study its
effectiveness in the treatment of hospitalized patients with
COVID-19. Bemcentinib has previously been studied in cancer patients
and has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated. It has also been reported
to exhibit potent antiviral activity in preclinical models against several
enveloped viruses, including Ebola and Zika virus, and recent data have
expanded this to include SARS-CoV-2.
- Bevacizumab A VEGF inhibitor called bevacizumab (marketed under the brand name Avastin for
certain types of cancer) being studied as a treatment for acute
lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in
critically ill patients with COVID-19 pneumonia at the Qilu
Hospital of Shandong University in Jinan, China.
- Chloroquine phosphate The older anti-malaria drug chloroquine has been shown to have a wide range of antiviral
effects, including anti-coronavirus. Studies in Guangdong Province in
China suggest that chloroquine may help improve patient outcomes in
people with novel coronavirus pneumonia.
- Colchicine An older anti-inflammatory drug called colchicine is being studied to prevent complications of
COVID-19 in high risk patients. Colchicine has long been used in the
treatment of gout.
- Dexamethasone The cheap and widely available steroid dexamethasone reduced the risk for death among seriously ill
COVID-19 patients by up to a third, according to researchers at the University of Oxford in
England. The drug did not appear to help patients with less serious
illness.
- EIDD-2801 A team of researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill is
hopeful that a broad spectrum oral antiviral called EIDD-2801 could
be used as a potential prophylactic or treatment for COVID-19 and other
coronaviruses. Ridgeback Biotherapeutics has licensed EIDD-2801 and has
received permission from the FDA to begin patient trials.
Update: May 26, 2020 -- Ridgeback Biotherapeutics and Merck enter collaboration agreement to develop EIDD-2801. - Favipiravir An antiviral drug called favipiravir which
was reported February 17, 2020 to have received marketing approval in
China for the treatment of influenza, was also approved for use in
clinical trials as a treatment for novel coronavirus pneumonia.
On March 31, 2020, Fujifilm announced the start of a Phase 3 clinical trial
of Avigan (favipiravir) on COVID-19 patients in Japan. Avigan is
approved in Japan for use as an antiviral in the treatment of
influenza. On April 9, 2020 -- Fujifilm announced the start of a Phase 2 clinical trial
of favipiravir in approximately 50 COVID-19 patients in the U.S. On
June 19, 2020, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited announced the marketing approval of favipiravir
(FabiFlu®) for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients in
India.
- Fingolimod An approved drug called fingolimod (marketed under the brand name Gilenya for
the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis) is being
studied as a treatment for COVID-19 at the First Affiliated Hospital of
Fujian Medical University in Fuzhou, China.
- Hydroxychloroquine and
azithromycin In a small study
commissioned by the French government, 20 patients with COVID-19 were
treated with a combination of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and the macrolide antibacterial drug azithromycin (Zithromax). Results showed that all patients
taking the combination were virologically cured within 6 days of
treatment.
Update: May 14, 2020 -- NIH begins clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin to treat COVID-19 (NIH Press Release) - Hydroxychloroquine sulfate It
was reported in the journal Clinical Infectious
Diseases on March 9 that the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine was effective in killing the coronavirus in
laboratory experiments. Hydroxychloroquine was first approved by the FDA
in 1995 under the brand name Plaquenil, and it is also used in the
treatment of patients with lupus and arthritis. In March 2020, the US
FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to allow the emergency use
of hydroxychloroquine sulfate supplied from the Strategic National
Stockpile (SNS) for the treatment of COVID-19 in certain hospitalized
patients. On June 15, 2020, the FDA revoked the EUA.
- Ivermectin An anti-parasitic drug called ivermectin has been shown to be effective against the
SARS-CoV-2 virus in an in-vitro laboratory study by
researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Further
clinical trials need to be completed to confirm the effectiveness of the
drug in humans with COVID-19.
- Leronlimab A CCR5 antagonist called leronlimab has
shown promise in calming the 'cytokine storm' in a small number of
critically ill COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the New York area.
- Lopinavir and ritonavir A drug combination called lopinavir/ritonavir approved to treat HIV under the brand name
Kaletra is being studied in combination with the flu drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in Thailand. It
was reported on February 18, 2020 that an elderly Chinese woman,
the first patient to receive the "Thai cocktail" in Bangkok's
Rajvithi Hospital, had made a complete recovery after suffering from
severe COVID-19-related pneumonia.
Update: March 18, 2020 -- According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the lopinavir/ritonavir combination showed no benefit over standard care in hospitalized adult patients with severe COVID-19. - Methylprednisolone A widely used glucocorticoid called methylprednisolone is being studied for safety
and effectiveness in the treatment of novel coronavirus
pneumonia in a number of hospitals in the Hubei province of China.
- Remdesivir An investigational antiviral drug called remdesivir is being studied in clinical trials in China, the
United States, and the United Kingdom. Remdesivir has
demonstrated in vitro and in vivo activity
in animal models against the viral pathogens that cause MERS and SARS,
which are coronaviruses structurally similar to SARS-CoV-2.
- Sarilumab An interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antagonist
called sarilumab (marketed under the brand name Kevzara for
the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis) is being studied as a potential treatment for acute respiratory
distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients critically ill from COVID-19.
- STC3141 An investigational drug called STC3141has
been approved to commence phase II clinical research in
Australia for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
suffered by COVID-19 patients.
- Tocilizumab An interleukin-6 receptor antagonist called tocilizumab (marketed under the brand name Actemra for the
treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions) is
being studied in a number of locations worldwide for the treatment of
patients with COVID-19.
- Umifenovir An antiviral drug called umifenovir (marketed
in Russia under the brand name Arbidol, and also available in China
for the treatment of influenza) is being studied in China and other
countries as a treatment for COVID-19.
How can we treat coronavirus?
While I believe Western medicine has a good handle on how to
limit the spread of coronavirus, when it comes to treatment there are precious
few options available, and this is where I believe that traditional systems of
medicines have a lot to offer. Given that this virus appears to be targeting
mostly older and immunocompromised people, as well as those suffering from
comorbidities, the best thing you can do to prevent serious illness is to get
healthy by following a proper diet and lifestyle (e.g. stop smoking,
exercising), making sure to have access
to clean air, water, and plenty of sunshine to replenish vitamin D3 levels. In
all systems of traditional medicine the primary factor underlying seasonal
illness is the presence of congestion, i.e. kapha/ama, phlegm/dampness, canker,
etc. Therefore, it is important to take measures to prevent the accumulation of
this congestive factors, and avoid any habit that produces an increase in
mucus, causing the coating on the tongue to become thicker, or weakens the
appetite. The best foods to eat during this time are those which are warm,
soupy, light, and not too greasy, e.g. soup, kitchari, steamed vegetables, etc.
Several years ago I wrote a rather extensive piece on dealing with cold and flu
season; if you haven’t seen it, I suggest checking it out.
For most people, infection with the coronavirus is limited
to an upper respiratory infection, causing symptoms such as runny nose, nasal
congestion, and sore throat, often accompanied by some degree of bodily fever,
body ache, and sometimes a dry cough. While unpleasant and uncomfortable,
nothing about these symptoms is dangerous, as they represent first-line defense
mechanisms the body uses to inhibit viral infiltration and replication. The
real danger is when the infection descends down into the lungs causing
inflammation and secondary infection, progressing from the typical cold/flu
symptoms to pneumonia. In most cases this is caused because the patient
aspirates (inhales) their own infected nasal secretions. Thus one of the
more effective measures to inhibit this is a combination of inhalant therapies
and using specialized techniques such as nasya. Inhalant therapies can be both
active and passive in nature: inhaling steam medicated with essential oils such
as lavender, eucalyptus, and spruce, and using bedside humidifiers at night.
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