HCQ and Ivermectin are both Zinc Ionophores.
From a golf course
Ōmura discovered a bacterium called Streptomyces avermitilis (STREP-tow-My-sees AV-er-MY-till-is) near a golf course in Japan. This germ naturally makes avermectin. “Microorganisms are very important in nature, and … I learn from microorganisms,” Ōmura said in a telephone call with a representative of the Nobel committee.
Campbell is a biologist who had been focusing on parasites at the drug company Merck. He tested the compound and found that it was very good at killing the larvae of some parasites. Later, the compound was tweaked to make ivermectin. This drug is even more powerful against parasites that infect people and animals.
The drug was first used to treat diseases in animals caused by parasites. It is still used to prevent heartworm in dogs. It also can kill ear mites. In many parts of the world, the drug is used to treat farm animals such as cows, sheep and horses. Among such livestock, it stops infections caused by bloodsucking parasites.
In time, Campbell and other scientists learned ivermectin also could work against diseases in people. Two of the most serious of these: river blindness and elephantiasis (EL-eh-fan-TY-ah-sis). But the drug also works well against lice and a disease called scabies. Mites cause that disease.
Ivermectin has been the single biggest factor in eliminating river blindness from Latin America, says Ben Makepeace. He’s a parasite expert at the University of Liverpool in England. That disease is caused by a very tiny roundworm called Onchocerca volvulus. It’s transmitted by the bite of black flies. Microscopic, thread-like larvae of these worms are known as microfilariae (MY-kroh-fil-AAR-ee-ay). These larvae can move through the eyes and under the skin. As they do, they can trigger permanent blindness, severe itching and inflammation.
In 1987 Merck began giving away ivermectin for free. The goal was to help wipe out river blindness. And thanks to this drug, Colombia and Ecuador have now eradicated the disease. The drug kills only worm larvae. But the good news: People only need to take one dose each year to keep those larvae from growing, Makepeace says. “That’s how powerful [the drug] is.”
Ivermectin also treats infections with roundworms that cause elephantiasis. This disease affects some 120 million people. Adult forms of the worm live in the body’s lymph system. Infected mosquitoes spread the larvae as they bite people. Over time, the worms clog the lymph system. This can cause the victims limbs or other body parts to undergo a disfiguring swelling.
Ivermectin used together with a second drug can stop the spread of the worms. Merck also donates ivermectin to treat elephantiasis. Today, some 300 million people take the drug each year to treat for river blindness and elephantiasis.
https:
//www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/nobel-goes-developing-drugs-nature
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