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Originally Posted by dlphg9
So he had TB and lung problems? Doesn't sound like a guy that is too healthy to me. Also what's the anti malaria medicine for? That literally doesn't make sense. Also half the shit on social media is a lie.
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The antimalarial is chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine (brand name Plaquenil). Plaquenil is also used for rheumatoid arthritis because it reduces the inflammatory autoimmune response, which leads to joint destruction. While our immune responses are normally helpful, there are examples where pathogens can cause inflammatory responses that are detrimental--one of the best examples is the cytokine storm invoked by the 1918 H1N1 strain, which is why young adults with the healthiest immune systems suffered the highest rates of death.
It is likely that severe cases of COVID-19 initiate a harmful inflammatory response, which is why agents like chloroquine and tocilizumab are being investigated for efficacy. However, that does not mean that all immunosuppressants are created equal. In almost all cases you want robust immune function.
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"When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
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