Ivormectin to be studied as possible treatment in the UK

[MercyBooth]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57570377

Well the evidence so far has been conflicting re its efficacy so a well- controlled study is welcome

Ivermectin is a bit of a grey area, many people believe in it but the evidence isn’t there to support it officially. Hopefully clinical trials will shed light on the truth and if it can be used then excellent news.

Will be excellent to finally put the matter to rest (and stop people relying on the biased, methodologically flawed observational studies and ridiculous meta-analysis) by conducting a well powered, well designed RCT

Am following with interest!

(Although this hasn't stopped people trying to force HCQ on COVID patients...)

@ollyollyoxenfree

Will be excellent to finally put the matter to rest (and stop people relying on the biased, methodologically flawed observational studies and ridiculous meta-analysis) by conducting a well powered, well designed RCT

Am following with interest!

(Although this hasn't stopped people trying to force HCQ on COVID patients...)

You're joking right??

The way to inflame a conspiracy theory is to prove it's nonsense!

Nothing good can come out of scientific tests - if they find no benefit, then SM will be full of angry people crying foul and demanding new trials as everyone involved in the UK will be on the payroll of some BigPharma outfit...
On the other hand, if a benefit is found, SM will be full of people complaining that it rewrites your DNA and turns people into worms.

can't argue with that @justwanttodanceagain

I use ivermectin to treat mites in my Guinea pigs, it's all I think every time I hear it

Good news. Although I hope it's not going to be a set up to fail trial, i.e. giving massive doses way too high so it causes possibly dangerous side effects, or giving too small doses that won't work, or only giving it to the very sickest patients.

At this stage - at least 150,000 dead, many more with Long Covid disability, patients should be given the choice to try it if they want. Informed consent. It's a safe drug so the worse that could happen is it doesn't work.

@hedgehogger1

I use ivermectin to treat mites in my Guinea pigs, it's all I think every time I hear it

Is there a possibility that overuse, i.e. mass treatment for Covid, might cause parasite resistance to it?

If so, I can see why there's been a (very understandable) reticence to try it.

Thinking about my previous post. I guess it does have to be trialled first, just in case it causes problems/interacts in any way with Covid infection and/or any other medications/underlying conditions a patient might be taking.

Also all the talk about it. I've not seen anything about Long Covid. It would be great if it did turn out to help as a treatment, but the ultimate goal is herd immunity through 80-90% vaccinated, to prevent transmission and catching it in the first place.

@Tealightsandd

Good news. Although I hope it's not going to be a set up to fail trial, i.e. giving massive doses way too high so it causes possibly dangerous side effects, or giving too small doses that won't work, or only giving it to the very sickest patients.

At this stage - at least 150,000 dead, many more with Long Covid disability, patients should be given the choice to try it if they want. Informed consent. It's a safe drug so the worse that could happen is it doesn't work.

Although I hope it's not going to be a set up to fail trial, i.e. giving massive doses way too high so it causes possibly dangerous side effects, or giving too small doses that won't work, or only giving it to the very sickest patients.

It's a trial at Oxford and will have passed through extremely stringent ethical approval - they definitely won't be trying to cause ivermectin-induced toxicity! The fact that it was approved means that have evidence that it could improve outcome beyond that of best supportive care and they'll have an idea of dosage required.

Haven't looked at the protocol yet but patient allocation will be randomised so that the groups are exchangeable (i.e, you can see the causal effect of ivermectin because hopefully all other covariates are controlled for). Clinicians won't be choosing who to give it to and there should be equal distribution of clinical severity between groups if randomisation is successful

Sounds positive ollyollyoxenfree

I got caught up in cynicalism.

I hope, if the trial is a success, that there's still enough for the guinea pigs.

I once went to a Young Farmers talk about the use of Ivermectin against liver fluke in cattle.

I was on low doses of invermectin for several years to treat filarisis (tropical parasite). No side effects and it's a treatment routinely used in tropical countries and considered safe.

ivermectin Obviously.

@Tealightsandd

Good news. Although I hope it's not going to be a set up to fail trial, i.e. giving massive doses way too high so it causes possibly dangerous side effects, or giving too small doses that won't work, or only giving it to the very sickest patients.

At this stage - at least 150,000 dead, many more with Long Covid disability, patients should be given the choice to try it if they want. Informed consent. It's a safe drug so the worse that could happen is it doesn't work.

It's unethical to give a medicine unless there is some likely benefit. This is what the trial will unpick. There is currently no good evidence that ivermectin is useful against Covid so it would be crazy to use it 'just in case' (and no clinician in their right mind would prescribe it off label for this)

We need solid evidence that it improves outcomes for covid rather than the anecdotal evidence that has flooded SM. The Oxford trial will give us that evidence. If SM goes into another meltdown about what they find so what. SM is always having a meltdown about something. 5G Anyone?