Ivermectin reduces 'the severity of infection' with Covid-19, according to the Pasteur Institute - RT France (Google translated):
July 14, 2020 - "The Pasteur Institute is fueling the debate on ivermectin. The research center unveiled on July 12 a study on the effects of this antiparasitic treatment against Covid-19, which concludes that 'taking this drug at standard doses makes it possible to reduce in an animal model the symptoms and the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection'. The work of the scientists of the institute, published in the journal of the European Organization of Molecular Biology, thus underline that the ivermectin molecule causes 'a limitation of the inflammation of the respiratory tract and the symptoms which result from it' and 'protection against loss of smell'.
"[T]he treatment does not seem to act on viral replication: 'The treated and untreated models had similar amounts of viral load in the nasal cavity and in the lungs. Our results show that ivermectin has an immunomodulatory and not an antiviral effect,' explained Guilherme Dias de Melo, epidemiologist and co-author of the study. Hervé Bourhy, head of unit at the Institut Pasteur who also took part in the work, nevertheless believes that these 'results provide significant progress and [...] pave the way for development axes for better treatments against Covid -19 in humans'.
"Ivermectin is an antiparasitic commonly used against parasites such as scabies, onchocerciasis (river blindness) or lice. The drug is the subject of a promotional campaign on the networks, in particular since an Australian study published in the spring of 2020 had observed an in vitro efficacy of the ivermectin molecule on Sars-CoV-2.
"But on March 31, a WHO [World Health Organization] clinical team said that the data from studies to measure their effectiveness against Covid-19 had not provided convincing results.... In addition, the manufacturer of the drug, Merck, assured on February 4 that the idea of a 'potential therapeutic effect against Covid-19 has no scientific basis'....
"'Most often carried out in emerging countries, these clinical trials did not meet the conditions required for the testing of drugs in our country. This has led to criticism both within the World Health Organization and within the Directorate-General for Health' explained ... Jean-Pierre Changeux, famous neurobiologist co-signatory of the French study. Another factor, 'the controversy around hydroxychloroquine [another antiparasitic] has greatly affected the objective evaluation of ivermectin', argued the researcher.
"[T]he institute's team followed a path developed over the past year by Jean-Pierre Changeux with Zahir Amoura, from Pitié-Salpêtrière. In March 2020, one of the latter's interns wondered about Chinese studies showing a low number of smokers among the sick. They then worked on the protection potential of nicotine against Covid-19. The two scientists started from the idea that the virus enters the body through the nicotinic receptor, a protein contained in neurons that Jean-Pierre Changeux himself had discovered and isolated in 1970. 'Our hypothesis is that the coronavirus would block directly or indirectly this receptor and that ivermectin could reactivate it' explained the neurobiologist....
"Despite the disavowal of the WHO, the drug has already met with success in several countries such as Brazil, Lebanon and South Africa. In Indonesia, AFP reports that pharmacies are facing a rush on ivermectin. Also in India, where a collective of lawyers from Bombay has announced that it is launching a lawsuit against Soumya Swaminathan, a pediatrician specializing in tuberculosis and scientific director of the WHO. Indian lawyers accuse him of dismissing evidence in favor of ivermectin, of having tweeted advising against its use (which they liken to disinformation leading to deaths), and of promoting laboratories that produce vaccines."
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