A team of medical doctors from Bangladesh have, reportedly, had “astounding” success in treating patients suffering from COVID-19 with two commonly used drugs, Doxycline and Ivermectin.
Dr Tarek Alam, the head of the medical department at the Bangladesh Medical College Hospital, and one of the senior members of the team, stated that a combination of the two drugs were administered to 60 patients, all of whom experienced full recoveries within four days. The patients had, reportedly, been suffering from respiratory problems, as well as other symptoms of SARS-CoV-2.
Dr Alam also noted that the team was preparing a scientific paper discussing the effectiveness of the treatment to be published for peer-review.
Ivermectin
Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug commonly used to cure roundworm infections, and belonging to a class of drugs known as antihelmintics. The drug has been granted FDA approval, and is typically ingested orally. The drug works by binding to the structure of a parasite, inhibiting it from producing larvae, before eventually paralysing and killing it completely.
Side effects associated with the drug may include a loss of energy, vomitting, abdominal pains, nausea, a loss of appetite and tiredness among other relatively mild conditions. In more serious cases, these could include bleeding, redness, swelling, lack of control over urinary and bowel movements, loss of vision, and seizures.
In March, a study conducted by researchers from the University of Melbourne and Monash University in Australia suggested that Ivermectin showed success as an inhibitor of COVID-19 in vitro. The study noted that a single treatment was “able to effect a 5000 fold reduction in the virus at 48 hours in cell culture.” As a generic drug, Ivermectin is also included on the WHO's list of essential medicines.
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