A drug used to treat head lice can reduce the risk of death for Covid patients by up to 80 percent.
Ivermectin, a prescription-only medicine that can cost just £ 1.50 for a treatment course, can also halve the time required for critically ill patients.
Dr Andrew Hill, a virologist from the University of Liverpool behind the analysis, claims that the drug can be ‘transformative’ in the fight against the virus.
But other scientists were skeptical of the finding, saying more data would be needed before it could be used as a possible treatment.
They pointed out that other drugs, such as hydroxychloroquine and tocilizumab, showed great promise in early trials, only for scientists to discover that they had no benefit.
Results from 11 studies suggest that ivermectin – used to treat head lice – may help protect coronavirus patients. However, scientists have issued a warning saying more research is needed
Leaked slides published before the study was published show that only eight of the 573 Covid-19 patients who received the drug died, compared with 44 of the 510 who did not receive it.
They also suggested that the drug could speed up the removal of the virus from the body. The Egyptian study included 100 patients with moderate symptoms who received the drug and 100 with severe symptoms who received the drug. The same number was used for the control group. The Bangladesh study involved 72 Covid-19 patients
Ivermectin was discovered in the 1970s and quickly became an essential medicine for a large number of parasitic infections, such as head lice and scabies.
It is branded as Stromectol, an oral tablet for scabies and Soolantra, a skin cream for rosacea. It is referred to as Sklice for the treatment of head lice, which was approved in the United States this year.
Today, it is prescribed to the NHS and in the US for these conditions, but some scientists argue that it may also be useful against Covid-19.
Scientists investigating the drug believe it works by paralyzing the SARS-CoV-2 virus and ‘overwhelming the nervous system’ to prevent it from recurring.
In leaked slides published before the study’s release next month, the scientists behind the research combined the results of 11 trials with more than 1,400 patients.
It revealed that only eight Covid-19 patients out of 573 who received the drug died, compared with 44 out of the 510 who received a placebo.
The time taken to remove the virus from the body was also faster when ivermectin was taken, two studies included in the research suggested.
In a trial in Egypt, 100 patients with mild symptoms cleared the virus on average within five days when they received the drug. By comparison, the figure was approximately 10 days for 100 patients who did not receive the drug.
And in 100 patients with severe symptoms, they removed Covid within six days of receiving the drug on average, compared with 12 days for the 100 control patients.
Similar results were also seen in a study done in Bangladesh.
The studies were conducted mainly in developing countries – including Bangladesh, Argentina and Egypt – and the research was commissioned by the World Health Organization.
Patients received doses of ivermectin between 0.2 and 0.6 mg / kg, but in one study they received as much as 12 mg.
Early analysis suggests that the drug may help patients suffering from the virus, but scientists have yet to warn against these conclusions.
The studies compared used different doses of ivermectin, duration, and differed in the way they treated their control groups.
Some were double-blind – the ‘gold standard’ – meaning no volunteers were aware of what the drug was getting, and others were open label, meaning participants knew whether they were getting the drug or a placebo.
“If we see the same trends observed in more studies, it will really be a transformation,” Dr Hill said in the presentation.
Trials involving a further 7,100 participants are expected to be published in the coming months, and another three will be issued in January.
The study included data from 11 trials involving more than 1,400 patients mostly in developing countries. It will be published next month. Above is the number of patients in the trials included per country in the study
According to the researchers, more studies on Ivermectin are expected to be published in the coming months. Above is the number of participants in all ivermectin trials – published and ongoing – per country
Ivermectin has been controversial in the scientific community, and some researchers consider it another wonderful treatment.
The head of pharmacy at the University of Sydney, Professor Andrew McLachlan, said in August that there was’ great ‘uncertainty’ about whether the treatment was safe and effective in tackling coronavirus’ despite the favorable news’.
“All we have are observational studies and clinical opinions,” he said.
“Many of the current studies have a low number of participants, poor study designs and inconsistent (and relatively low) doses for ivermectin, and ivermectin is frequently given in combination with other drugs.”
Side effects of the drug include swelling of the feet, constipation and inflammation in the eye.
Many people fear that it could follow the path of hydroxychloroquine containing malaria, which US President Donald Trump regarded as a game changer.
But leading scientists have quickly pointed out that the effectiveness of the drug against the virus has yet to be proven.
More recent studies have concluded that it does not help patients suffering from the virus.