To those of you who have not seen the news on this, there is hope that Losartan might be able to stop the progression of the Corona Virus. I came across this blurb on the internet the other day, so I Google searched Losartan and Corona Virus and this is the article you want to read: clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show...
The concept that lead them to start this new Trial is this:
Scientists hypothesized that losartan might help patients with COVID-19 because, as an angiotensin receptor blocker, it obstructs the site through which the virus gets into the cells, Tolar said.
So If I'm understanding this correctly, Losartan is an Angiotensin Receptor Blocker. Apparently that type of blocker can act like a Guard Dog at the specific location on a human cell membrane, and stop the Corona virus from entering the human cell. If the virus can't get into the human cell, it can't replicate. If it can't replicate, the virus colony will then basically die of natural causes without being able to produce further virus population inside your body.
I don't know how long it will be before this type of study can produce viable results, and then after the results offer proof of working; then, go through the different steps of the approval process at the FDA. What I do know is that it makes sense to me. I also happen to have been taking Losartan daily for around twenty years, so perhaps I was just blessed.
If you are on a blood pressure drug similar to Losartan right now, and your doctor doesnt see a difference between staying what you are on and switching to Losartan, if I were you I'd switch to Losartan. It then couldnt hurt you, and it might be the difference between being safe or being at risk.
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wizzard166
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Hmm, its a very interesting concept behind binding to receptor sites. I take another ARB, Olmesartan, which I think is known as Benicar or something similar to that. I’ll have to check out whether they work in the same action.
I would bet that it doesnt matter if you are on Olmesartan or Losartan. With the urgent trial study just announced by NIH, why wait to find out a year from now that Losartan could have saved thousands of lives. Just call your doctor on Monday and ask if you can switch.
Losartan is prescribed for high blood pressure and heart failure and is in general very well tolerated. We should have results hopefully very soon and it would be exciting to have a medication available to block entry of the virus into the cell. A word of caution, however. We conducted many trails with great concepts behind them that turned out to be negative or even increased mortality like the CAST trial using flecanide in patients after a heart attack. Therefore I am so grateful that this trial will be conducted so we have answers hopefully very soon. Even if this drug mitigates the disease I could mean that patients like us with severely impaired immune system or other conditions survive. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Keep in mind that Losartan is basically harmless. All it does is lower blood pressure, with no virutal side effects other than that. I consider myself extremely lucky that I'm already on Losartan, and maybe frankly it has already saved my life. No way to know, just like until the final study we have no way to know. The point is that with no downside, and potentially life saving upside, and low cost of the drug to boot (it is a cheap Generic), a smart person would begin taking it. Now smart means a person who already is on a similar blood pressure drug. No harm, no foul. Even if not on a blood pressure drug, considering most of us have almost no immune system anymore, it might be worth adding Losartan with some drug that raises blood pressure to offset the lowering effect. Someone that knows more than I about that idea should be consulted, but frankly it is worth more than a passing thought.
Absolutely agree with you it is a very well tolerated drug and I so much hope it works. But don’t forget it may have to be given in very sick patients fighting off sepsis who may need blood pressure support. These are the patients who would need it the most and we routinely hold off blood pressure lowing medication in this setting. Therefore the trial. If they can show benefit patient should take it ASAP before they get really sick and at that point testing becomes very important. Would it be nice and so helpful to send patients home who are not sick enough for hospitalization with a medication that actually does something ?!
"Keep in mind Losartan is basically harmless" ???? On the authority of whom? The drug is safe for the purpose it is at this time prescribed, however, there may be some for whom it would not be safe as is the usual scenario for any medication.
There is no drug a layman can attest with authority that is harmless to everyone.
AND it is still being tested--please cool your jets a bit in regard to any possible drug development.
We can hope for it to work, we must wait for the verification of the information through the process.
What I said, if you read it carefully, is if a person is taking a similar blood pressure medication to ask their doctor if switching to Losartan would work as well. I wasnt suggesting that those not prescribed a blood pressure medication should start taking Losartan.
I have been on Losartan for 8 months. It gives me a dry cough, but it will be interesting to see if it any of us on this drug for high blood pressure ever get the coronavirus.
For what it is worth, and I have a biology background, I think they are on to something with the Losartan study. It is an angiotensin Receptor Blocker, so it might save people because it can block the Coronavirus from entering at that site on a person's cell. When I say that site, I'm referencing the specific location on a cell membrane that the virus gains entry into the person's cells. They must have had some evidence to get the NIH to grant the study, even though the evidence is preliminary and not proof.
To clarify what I was saying in my first post on this subject, which alarmed Cllady a bit, I was not suggesting that anyone on this site simply go out and get Losartan. First of all they couldnt do so, even if they wanted to. It is a prescription medication and their doctor wouldnt prescribe it, unless they needed it for blood pressure reasons. I was suggesting that anyone on Losartan should be thankful, because they could have a blessing in disguise. I was also suggesting that anyone else on blood pressure medication already, could ask their doctor if a switch to Losartan would work as well for them as their current blood pressure medication. In both situations (already taking Losartan and already taking a similar blood pressure medication) you can't lose. When you have a bet where you can't lose and you can only win or break even, the only question an intelligent person should ask is "How many times will you let me play the game?"
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