Hong Kong scientists say anti-microbe drug successful against coronavirus

Ranitidine was withdrawn in many countries due to nasty long term side effects.

I would very much like to see this report.

One thing is to show an effect in preclinical trials, another very different is to be actually useful in human patients.

It is always good to have another candidate, but searching in published reports and preprints of this year there have been dozens of drugs and compounds that do appear to work in animals but without crystalizing in human treatments.

Best case scenario this is useful and a couple of clinical trials show it without doubt, worst case scenario it only works because of differences in metabolism in hamsters and humans. It is better to wait until it is carefully tried in some patients and the results analyzed.

without crystalizing in human treatments

Is this a medical term? Not casting doubt, you are clearly well educated in this space (certainly the best on JT), just curious.

Risk vs. benefit.

A couple of weeks of this RBC treatment vs. the long term effects of Covid-19 infection.

Many people would be willing to take it for the short term benefit.

Wonder what's special about a Syrian hamster?!

@serendipitous1 They are now globally spread and have that well-known dangerous load. lol

RBC is use to treat H. pylori which is endemic in East Asia. It suggests that certain authoritarian governments can do retrospective studies of their RBC taking populations. ie. RBC efficacy vs. COVID-19 can be extracted from patient data when unconstrained by patient privacy laws.

Is this a medical term? Not casting doubt, you are clearly well educated in this space (certainly the best on JT), just curious.

I don't think so, googling puts at the first result the meaning intended.

Wonder what's special about a Syrian hamster?!

Mostly that they are susceptible to COVID-19 and have a similar disease as humans, and since they are easy to breed and keep they are useful for animal experiments.