Blade_Runner wrote:
The Mayo Clinic and a Japanese Medical Research team have developed a prescription dosage of horse dewormer (Ivermectin) for human patients suffering Covid infection.
U.S. Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health published the following:
Ivermectin for Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19 Infection: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Trial Sequential Analysis to Inform Clinical Guidelines
Background:
Repurposed medicines may have a role against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The antiparasitic ivermectin, with antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties, has now been tested in numerous clinical trials.
Areas of uncertainty:
We assessed the efficacy of ivermectin treatment in reducing mortality, in secondary outcomes, and in chemoprophylaxis, among people with, or at high risk of, COVID-19 infection.
Data sources:
We searched bibliographic databases up to April 25, 2021. Two review authors sifted for studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. Meta-analyses were conducted and certainty of the evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach and additionally in trial sequential analyses for mortality. Twenty-four randomized controlled trials involving 3406 participants met review inclusion.
Therapeutic Advances:
Meta-analysis of 15 trials found that ivermectin reduced risk of death compared with no ivermectin (average risk ratio 0.38, 95% confidence interval 0.19–0.73; n = 2438; I2 = 49%; moderate-certainty evidence). This result was confirmed in a trial sequential analysis using the same DerSimonian–Laird method that underpinned the unadjusted analysis. This was also robust against a trial sequential analysis using the Biggerstaff–Tweedie method. Low-certainty evidence found that ivermectin prophylaxis reduced COVID-19 infection by an average 86% (95% confidence interval 79%–91%). Secondary outcomes provided less certain evidence. Low-certainty evidence suggested that there may be no benefit with ivermectin for “need for mechanical ventilation,” whereas effect estimates for “improvement” and “deterioration” clearly favored ivermectin use. Severe adverse events were rare among treatment trials and evidence of no difference was assessed as low certainty. Evidence on other secondary outcomes was very low certainty.
Conclusions:
Moderate-certainty evidence finds that large reductions in COVID-19 deaths are possible using ivermectin. Using ivermectin early in the clinical course may reduce numbers progressing to severe disease. The apparent safety and low cost suggest that ivermectin is likely to have a significant impact on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic globally.
The Mayo Clinic and a Japanese Medical Research te... (
show quote)
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/mayo-clinic-doctor-on-people-using-horse-drug-ivermectin-for-covid-its-hard-to-explain.
"If I said to you, you know what, instead of an FDA-approved vaccine that's been tested in hundreds of thousands of people. Instead, let's take a drug that's used to treat parasites," Poland said on the Mayo Clinic podcast. "And many people are buying it over the counter in an animal treatment preparation that hasn't been studied for this, which makes people sick, can cause hallucinations, coma, and if you take it when you're pregnant, can cause birth defects, and let's use that instead."
In May, the University of Minnesota Medical School began a $1.5 million clinical trial of ivermectin to treat COVID-19. The school, as of Aug. 11, said existing trials show "mixed results," noting "there is insufficient data at this time to recommend its use in COVID-19." As for trials that suggest some potential benefit, the school says these studies are not peer-reviewed and have various flaws, including a small sample size and inconsistent dosage.
Poland described these existing studies as "very poorly conducted trials," noting the Cochrane Collaboration said there's no data to suggest ivermectin is effective at treating COVID-19.
Merck, which produces ivermectin and would benefit financially from a surge in sales, even said earlier this year there is "no scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19," "no meaningful evidence for clinical activity or clinical efficacy in patients with COVID-19 disease," and a "concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies."
The CDC also noted five times as many ivermectin-related calls coming into poison control centers in July 2021 compared to before the pandemic. These calls often involve "adverse effects and emergency department/hospital visits," the CDC said.
The Minnesota Poison Control Center told Bring Me The News it received nine calls for ivermectin exposure in August.
"So, this is one of those, you can't even believe that you're seeing and hearing this," Poland said. "You can't believe the number of calls to poison control centers as people take this drug unregulated, often taking the animal preparation, which is not FDA regulated, has other ingredients in it that human forms of the drug do not have, and they're getting sick, and no benefit.