3 ms·

There is a clinical trial going on to check for just that. The hope is that when taken as a prophylactic it prevents entry into cells and give the immune system

There is a clinical trial going on to check for just that. The hope is that when taken as a prophylactic it prevents entry into cells and give the immune system an advantage over the pathogen, but as you say, the immunosuppressive effects are a concern. We'll see soon enough.

tptacek 7y ago
Repeating myself, but: there's an extent to which that trial has already been running naturally, since lots and lots of people take doses of HCQ comparable to the C19 protocol already, for rheumatoid arthritis. Lots of those people are getting C19. Are you seeing reports that arthritic patients who get C19 are faring better?
- hexl 7y ago
  Are you seeing reports of the opposite?
- beagle3 7y ago
  I have not seen any co-occurence statistics. As both lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are at about 1% (each), and many of them are taking HCQ, then if HCQ works[0] I would expect much fewer of them to be diagnosed with SARS-Cov-2 in the first place. This is something that the CDC _should_ be able to track, and doesn't even require any ethically questionable trials. [0] and somehow the Lupus/RA mechanics are not influencing disease progress, which is not a trivial assumption, but does not disqualify the thought experiment entirely.
- HarryHirsch 7y ago
  People with rheumatoid arthritis are not a good population to study. We know that certain comorbidities increase death rate. Now you have people with immune system problems taking an immunosuppressive drug. The outcome tells you nothing.
  - tptacek 7y ago
    Jeremy Faust does not agree with you. https://twitter.com/jeremyfaust/status/1246801663345618944 https://twitter.com/jeremyfaust/status/1246801663345618944 But it's still being given, so I'm certain there are other doctors still holding out hope.
    - HarryHirsch 7y ago
      He says "If it does work, it‘s not as good as you hope it is" and "STUDY THE DRUGS!" What he doesn't say is "lovely natural experiment" and "GREAT Stuff".

tptacek 7y ago

Repeating myself, but: there's an extent to which that trial has already been running naturally, since lots and lots of people take doses of HCQ comparable to the C19 protocol already, for rheumatoid arthritis. Lots of those people are getting C19. Are you seeing reports that arthritic patients who get C19 are faring better?

hexl 7y ago
Are you seeing reports of the opposite?
beagle3 7y ago
I have not seen any co-occurence statistics. As both lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are at about 1% (each), and many of them are taking HCQ, then if HCQ works[0] I would expect much fewer of them to be diagnosed with SARS-Cov-2 in the first place. This is something that the CDC _should_ be able to track, and doesn't even require any ethically questionable trials. [0] and somehow the Lupus/RA mechanics are not influencing disease progress, which is not a trivial assumption, but does not disqualify the thought experiment entirely.
HarryHirsch 7y ago
People with rheumatoid arthritis are not a good population to study. We know that certain comorbidities increase death rate. Now you have people with immune system problems taking an immunosuppressive drug. The outcome tells you nothing.
- tptacek 7y ago
  Jeremy Faust does not agree with you. https://twitter.com/jeremyfaust/status/1246801663345618944 https://twitter.com/jeremyfaust/status/1246801663345618944 But it's still being given, so I'm certain there are other doctors still holding out hope.
  - HarryHirsch 7y ago
    He says "If it does work, it‘s not as good as you hope it is" and "STUDY THE DRUGS!" What he doesn't say is "lovely natural experiment" and "GREAT Stuff".