

It is generally thought the effect on glutamate-gated chloride and GABA causes an influx of chloride, leading to nervous inhibition and paralysis. Ivermectin pharmacology is not well understood. to recommend either for or against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.” This finding is similar to the World Health Organization recommendation that ivermectin not be used in COVID-19 outside of clinical trials. Research problems including small sample size, lack of blinding, confounding treatments and lack of clear study outcomes led the panel to note “there is insufficient evidence. The results of these studies were wildly variable, reporting anything from shorter time to resolution and lower mortality, to no benefit or worsening of disease. The National Institute of Health Expert Panel reviewed more than 16 observational and cohort studies involving ivermectin. There has been clinical research dedicated to COVID-19.

This means the anti-viral activity occurs at ivermectin levels toxic to humans. Importantly, the concentrations used to kill SARS-CoV-2 in the lab represented a dose 10 times higher than approved by the FDA. It was this study that the FDA cited when it warned about a trend of people using veterinary ivermectin to self-medicate to treat COVID-19. Researchers in Australia studied ivermectin’s in vitro (laboratory) effect on SARS-CoV-2 reporting a 5,000 fold decrease in viral RNA at 48 hours. This accomplishment was so significant, the developers of ivermectin shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2015. Billions of doses have been delivered and it is projected that these diseases are less than a decade away from being eliminated as a public health problem. Onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis are two worms that cause debilitating and disfiguring diseases affecting primarily low-resourced areas of Africa. In humans, it is approved to treat a wide range of parasites, like lice and scabies, but is most commonly used for parasitic worms. It is available in numerous formulations for veterinary medicine (oral, topical, IV, IM, SC) and is effective in treating fleas, ticks, mites and heartworm. Ivermectin (from the parent compound avermectin) was originally marketed to veterinary medicine providers, where it is considered a “wonder drug” for its broad-spectrum effect on a wide number of parasites.

The levels of ivermectin required to produce anti-viral activity are toxic to humans.
