04-16-2021, 10:08 AM
(04-15-2021, 09:59 PM)zedro Wrote: Ivermectin is a steroid right? Is there a natural analogous source, like how quinine is the basis of HCQ? I think if you can stay away from the synthetics, all the better.
It's not a steroid, it's an anti-parasite drug. "The safety, availability, and cost of ivermectin is nearly unparalleled given its near nil drug
interactions along with only mild and rare side effects observed in almost 40 years of use and
billions of doses administered (Kircik et al., 2016)." Its discoverers won the Nobel prize in medicine because they discovered Ivermectin.
Safety of Ivermectin
Numerous studies report low rates of adverse events, with the majority mild, transient, and largely
attributed to the body’s inflammatory response to the death of the parasites and include itching, rash,
swollen lymph nodes, joint paints, fever and headache (Kircik et al., 2016). In a study which combined
results from trials including over 50,000 patients, serious events occurred in less than 1% and largely
associated with administration in Loa loa [parasitic eye worm] (Gardon et al., 1997). Further, according to the pharmaceutical reference standard Lexicomp, the only medications contraindicated for use with ivermectin
are the concurrent administration of anti-tuberculosis and cholera vaccines while the anticoagulant
warfarin would require dose monitoring. Another special caution is that immunosuppressed or organ
transplant patients who are on calcineurin inhibitors such as tacrolimus or cyclosporine or the
immunosuppressant sirolimus should have close monitoring of drug levels when on ivermectin given
that interactions exist which can affect these levels. A longer list of drug interactions can be found on
the drugs.com database, with nearly all interactions leading to a possibility of either increased or
decreased blood levels of ivermectin. Given studies showing tolerance and lack of adverse effects in
human subjects given escalating high doses of ivermectin, toxicity is unlikely although a reduced
efficacy due to decreased levels may be a concern (Guzzo et al., 2002).
Concerns of safety in the setting of liver disease are unfounded given that, to our knowledge,
only two cases of liver injury have ever been reported in association with ivermectin, with both cases
rapidly resolved without need for treatment. (Sparsa et al., 2006;Veit et al., 2006). Further, no dose
adjustments are required in patients with liver disease. Some have described ivermectin as potentially
neurotoxic, yet one study performed a search of a global pharmaceutical database and found only 28
cases of serious neurological adverse events such as ataxia, altered consciousness, seizure, or tremor
(Chandler, 2018). Potential explanations included the effects of concomitantly administered drugs
which increase absorption past the blood brain barrier or polymorphisms in the mdr-1 gene. However,
the total number of reported cases suggests that such events are rare. Finally, ivermectin has been used
safely in pregnant women, children, and infants.
Review of the Emerging Evidence Supporting the Efficacy of Ivermectin in the Prophylaxis and Treatment of COV