In the paste past four months, the leading scientists and health officials sprang into action and rush to find therapies, against SARS-CoV-2 infection. This week, Dr. Pessanha, Director of Experimental Pathology at Myofrastand will address the most common questions regarding the development of therapeutics and vaccines to fight the virus.
Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine – Are them approved to treat SARS-CoV-2?
No. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine (a less toxic derivative of chloroquine) are approved for the treatment and suppression of malaria and for the treatment of “collagen diseases” such as Lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. The efficacy of both drugs in patients with SARS-CoV-2-related pneumonia was observed in clinical studies in several Chinese hospitals. According to these studies, chloroquine improved the evolution of pneumonia in some patients with mild, moderate and severe forms of COVID-19 pneumonia. In addition, there were reduction of the duration of symptoms and delayed of viral clearance, all with no side effects. However, its is important to point out that the data underlying these studies have not been published yet. This means that, the optimal dosage of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for SARS-CoV-2 is still an issue that will need to be assessed in the coming days in order to be used in large-scale clinical trials. At the present, the evidences are still insufficient to issue a recommendation on the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine in all critically ill COVID-19 patients.