Finding the CURE! (Coronavirus/COVID-19) - Doctor Explains

In this video we will be discussing all current and future treatments for the coronavirus.

As everybody in the entire world knows by now, the coronavirus also known as COVD-19, is a fast spreading pandemic. It endangers thousands of lives and has huge impacts on our healthcare systems and our economies. That is why the entire world is looking for a treatment or a vaccine to stop this virus.

Now let’s start by taking a look at the current treatments used in clinical practise. Unfortunately there is no effective treatment yet. Current treatments are aimed at reducing the symptoms the coronavirus might cause. This is known as supportive care.
Patients are ventilated with oxygen, where air is blown into their lungs. This is needed in 41% of hospitalized patients.
18% of the hospitalized patients are also given glucocorticoids to reduce inflammation and help open their airways. And most patients are also given paracetamol to reduce their fever and overall complaints.
But ultimately, doctors are just buying time and comfort here. Our body still needs to fight off this virus on it’s own. And it takes our immune system a lot of time to fight of the corona virus. Time in which the virus can multiply itself and make us sicker. And this is where a effective treatment would come in handy.

Now in order to find an effective treatment or vaccine we need to do a lot of clinical trails. Those are studies where the effectiveness, as well as the possible dangers and side-effects, are tested. And sadly this takes time. Especially if a drugs or vaccine is not approved yet to be tested on humans in general or for COVID-19 patients specifically. But more on that later.
Now by march 20th there where 86 clinical trails started. And I will discuss the most interesting ones here.

Some trails are done to test the effectiveness of certain antiviral drugs, like Avigan.
The most recent results show a high degree of safety and it is clearly effective in patients with mild symptoms. However Avigan is not as effective in patients with severe symptoms.

Next up, there is Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. From previous research in 2005 it is known that these drugs can suppress the spread of SARS-cov, which is closely related to the coronavirus. These drugs are also used in clinical trails with promising, but just anecdotal, results so far.

Exactly the can be said about remdesivir. Which was originally developed as an treatment for ebola. There also was some excitement regarding an HIV-drug (lopinavir and ritonavir), however a new study from china could not detect a benefit when patients took the drug.
And lastly there are some trails testing the effectiveness of an immunosuppressant, called Actemra and a blood pressure drug, Losartan. Both could eventually prove to be effective treatments but for now nothing is known yet.

It is very important we educate ourselves on the coronavirus, so we can stay as safe as possible. You can do this by watching my playlist containing everything you need to know on the coronavirus. You can find these videos here:
1. Coronavirus the numbers: https://youtu.be/lMHi5CBJoLQ
2. FAQ coronavirus: https://youtu.be/KIJMFSpLzQ8
3. Stop the spread: https://youtu.be/QX9YeVPC7w4
4. Curing the Coronavirus: https://youtu.be/Q3vfj4kcul4

Coronavirus playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIJMFSpLzQ8&list=PLaG3Bo3L0gX4M4gomuYMNR1MdlNWWkk6A

- Disclaimer: this video is meant purely informational! This is not medical advice! If you are looking for medical advice always contact your own doctor. -

Literature:
1: RIVM. (2020). Nieuw coronavirus (COVID-19). Find it here: https://www.rivm.nl/coronavirus/covid-19
2: CDC. (2020). Coronavirus (COVID-19). Find it here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
3: Pappas S. (2020). Is there a cure for the new coronavirus? Find it here: https://www.livescience.com/can-coronavirus-be-cured.html
4: Life Science Staff (2020). Treatments for COVID-19: Drugs being tested against the coronavirus. Find it here: https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-covid-19-treatments.html
5: McCurry J. (2020). Japanese flu drug 'clearly effective' in treating coronavirus, says China. Find it here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/18/japanese-flu-drug-clearly-effective-in-treating-coronavirus-says-china
6: Duddu P. (2020). Coronavirus treatment: Vaccines/drugs in the pipeline for COVID-19. Find it here: https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/analysis/coronavirus-mers-cov-drugs/

* The images in this video are used for educational purposes only.

Music:
1: Nate Blaze. Quiet Nights
2: Divkid. Dusk
3: Emily A. Sprague. Meeting Again
4: Ikson, New Day

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Books I used In Medical School:
Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology, https://amzn.to/3inL6jM
Human Anatomy & Physiology, https://amzn.to/2DHlHCT
Atlas of Human Anatomy, https://amzn.to/3afFe9c

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