In one of the other studies, HCQ was found to show no substantial antiviral activity (file)
Berlin:
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, alone or in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin, show no noticeable antiviral effect against infections with the new coronavirus in macaques or human lung cells, according to two new studies in the journal Nature.
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine, two drugs commonly used for the treatment of malaria, have been studied for their potential to treat COVID-19 in more than 80 registered clinical trials, and have been shown to inhibit the new coronavirus, SARS-COV -2 infection in cell cultures, scientists say.
However, they said, the effectiveness of these drugs in treating patients with COVID-19 has been debated.
In one of the studies, scientists including Roger Le Grand of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research evaluated the effects of HCQ treatment in cynomolgus macaques, a non-human primate model of infection with SARS-CoV-2 in humans.
They found that HCQ did not show any substantial antiviral activity regardless of when treatment was initiated, either before infection, shortly after infection, or late after infection.
According to the study, use of the antimalarial drug in combination with azithromycin, an antibiotic, also did not have a noticeable effect on virus levels in macaques.
In the other study, Stefan Pohlmann and his colleagues at the Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Germany found that chloroquine does not have antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in human lung cells.
They explained that in previous experiments, cells that were used to demonstrate a positive effect for chloroquine lacked an enzyme that is normally present in human lung cells and facilitates entry of SARS-CoV-2. .
The scientists who conducted this study emphasized the importance of using cell lines that mimic human lung tissue in studies evaluating the activity of drugs against SARS-CoV-2.
According to scientists, these results do not support the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for the treatment of patients with COVID-19.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
