COVID-19 NEWS
Blood pressure drugs make COVID-19 virus lethal
Blood pressure medication is one factor that’s making the COVID-19 virus lethal. The drugs increase the chances of viral pneumonia and fatal respiratory failure, new research has discovered.
People who are taking an ACE inhibitor or an ARB drug for heart problems should stay at home and not meet up with people, say researchers from Louisiana State University.
Dr Malcolm Kendrick, a family doctor in the UK, estimates that people taking one of the drugs are four times more likely to die from the virus.
The drugs also increase the chances of catching the virus in the first place. ACE (angiotensinconverting enzyme) inhibitors in particular increase the levels of receptors around the lungs that the coronavirus binds to.
Many taking the medication are elderly, and they’re being treated for cardiovascular diseases including a heart attack, high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes or chronic kidney disease. The ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers) are also prescribed to reduce blood pressure levels.
Data from 1,099 COVID-19 patients in China shows that most were also suffering from hypertension, coronary artery disease, diabetes and renal disease—all health problems that likely were being treated with one of the drugs.
Similar reports have been coming out of Italy, where an estimated 52 percent of COVID fatalities also involved people who were taking an ACE inhibitor.
This could also explain why children don’t seem to be infected by the virus: they have fewer ACE receptors in their lower respiratory tracts, say the Louisiana researchers.
J Travel Med, 2020; taaa041; www.drmalcolmkendrick.org
Gingko biloba could combat the virus
Ginkgo biloba is a potential therapy to combat COVID-19, say scientists. Its antiviral properties have been tested successfully on several viruses, including herpesvirus and Zika, and it could be just as effective against the new coronavirus.
In laboratory trials, researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago discovered that ginkgolic acid, derived from Gingko leaves and fruits, either blocks or slows down the development of several viruses. They postulate it could also be effective against the coronavirus.
Gingko biloba is an herbal medicine that has been used in the West since the sixteenth century, mainly for improving memory and reducing anxiety.
Doctors warn that it interacts with a range of prescription drugs, including aspirin and SSRI antidepressants.
Sci Rep, 2020; 10: 4746
Critical patients ‘successfully’ treated with high-dose vitamin C
“ The patients who received vitamin C did significantly better than those who did not ”
A group of hospitals in New York have treated its most critical COVID-19 patients with
