Ivermectin has a surprisingly interesting origin, it was discovered in soil near a Japanese golf course and developed from a bacterium that kills parasites. It went on to treat diseases like river blindness and became widely used in both human and veterinary medicine. Despite all that, it’s definitely not some miracle drug or cure-all like some would have you believe. Though that didn’t stop my grandpa from stockpiling it after watching too many Fox News ads.
gus_massa · 1h ago
> it’s definitely not some miracle drug or cure-all like some would have you believe
> The drug is effective against a wide number of parasites and arthropods in general
> Its ion-channel mechanism of action against parasites has no application to viruses.
cryptoegorophy · 56m ago
It would’ve been very nice to show early in Covid the scale size of parasites vs viruses. Calling it a horse dewormer created the opposite, conspiracy effect.
sjsdaiuasgdia · 35m ago
"Well if it can kill that big ol' thing, surely it can absolutely destroy those microscopic bastards!"
A whole lot of people will ignore or rationalize away evidence that disagrees with what they have already decided is true.
rolph · 21m ago
it really is gloomy to see one who now realizes how mistaken it is, and have to help them through the aftermath.
andy_ppp · 2h ago
Yes, I really am always shocked by the Joe Rogans et. al. who spout off about random fad pharmaceuticals like this (with microscopic grains of truth that’s been twisted), they don’t even understand the basics of what is done to prove anything at all works effectively but in complete stupidity there’s a certainty I don’t think I have about anything.
People are more likely to believe Mel Gibson than a scientist on this stuff, it’s going to lead to absolute disaster.
ImHereToVote · 2h ago
I believe it was a licensed MD who prescribed Ivermectin to him. It might be that we all have some parasites that worsen COVID immune reactions.
ujkhsjkdhf234 · 15m ago
Get involved in sports and you'll learn you can find a crooked doctor to prescribe anything and I mean ANYTHING.
bamboozled · 2h ago
Yet there was zero evidence to suggest it would work for COVID, and people like him going around saying it worked, or they had "good results", based on nothing. Then they caused a shortage of the drug in places it was needed. So he actually caused harm with his BS.
I also got a fairly early strain of COVID and didn't have Ivermectin and I got over it pretty easily too? I just thought I pushed it too hard in the gym and felt a bit tired. My cousin got it, ended up in hospital on Oxygen.
Joe Rogan is just a fool and a propagandist.
zoklet-enjoyer · 20m ago
iirc, this is what caused the hype with ivermectin. I went to Fleet Farm and bought several tubes as soon as I read this. Because why not? By the time the Joe Rogan types started talking about it, my stash was already expired. I've periodically taken it when I've been exposed to bed bugs and fleas. And as a preventative thing when I'm going into areas with a lot of ticks. The apple flavored horse paste is nasty.
Yes, and there are licensed MDs working for RFK specifically to demonize vaccines (while there are many other licensed MDs who see vaccines as being very positive and efficacious). A license doesn't make you right.
ImHereToVote · 1h ago
I would rather trust an MD over a rando on the Internet sorry.
kennywinker · 1h ago
Which licensed MD?
If there are 100 licensed MDs telling you it’s BS, and 1 telling you it’s a miracle cure…
wat10000 · 1h ago
What do you call someone who graduates last in their class in medical school?
“Doctor.”
There’s no shortage of credentialed quacks out there.
danans · 54m ago
> Yes, I really am always shocked by the Joe Rogans et. al. who spout off about random fad pharmaceuticals like this
Why shocked?
It seems quite normal since we live in an age where there is no accountability for spouting that stuff, and probably a major economic upside for the person spouting it.
Snake oil has never had a bigger market than it has today, aided by the Internet as a platform.
ttoinou · 2h ago
Of course but the real question is how good the competition / alternative to Joe Rogan is. If he replaces MSM (all their lies and manipulation), then he’s better, even if he has low proof for what he talks about
kennywinker · 1h ago
Might makes right?
Success in a media marketplace is not the same as quality, honesty, or integrity.
kytazo · 2h ago
Why was this flagged?
kibwen · 1h ago
I didn't flag it, but possibly because it pretends that Joe Rogan doesn't count as "mainstream media" despite being extremely mainstream, or alternatively because it pretends that "mainstream media" is somehow inherently untrustworthy in a way that Joe Rogan is immune to despite his acknowledged detachment from reality.
ttoinou · 1h ago
New medias grow and become mainstream yes. You have to interpret each word in when they happened chronologically…
felixgallo · 1h ago
The false narrative that there's a 'mainstream media' which is lies and propaganda, as compared to plucky unafraid truth-telling upstarts like Fox and Sinclair and Joe Rogan.
bamboozled · 2h ago
Golf is awesome...I know that much for sure.
amluto · 1h ago
> It has now been shown to reduce malaria transmission by killing the mosquitoes that feed on treated individuals.
That seems like it will interfere with careless randomized controlled trial design. If the drug kills mosquitos, it could easily do less well at preventing the user from getting infected by a mosquito, but it could potentially prevent an infected patient from spreading an infection via mosquito or even kill a mosquito that would otherwise subsequently spread an infection between two other people.
In any case, here’s a better article. It seems the authors are very much aware of this issue, and they randomized entire clusters of people:
> Four states -- Tennessee, Arkansas, Idaho, and Louisiana -- have passed OTC ivermectin laws
> [Nine] other states have bills moving through their legislatures
zoklet-enjoyer · 19m ago
You can just go buy it at any farm supply store. Same thing with DMSO
raffael_de · 14m ago
This research must have been conducted by conspiracy nuts - after all Ivermectin is a horse dewormer and that's all you have to know about it (source: CNN)
OutOfHere · 53m ago
This paper seems misleading to me because ivermectin was dosed only once a month at about a standard dose. Based on the drug's pharmacology, there is no way in which it could maintain any effectiveness over a week.
If the paper is legitimate, then the effect could be better with weekly dosing and much better with twice-a-week dosing.
I agree. Anyway, there is a nice post about Ivermectin in 2020 by Derek Lowe (In the Pipeline) https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/what-s-ivermectin the most relevant quotes are:
> The drug is effective against a wide number of parasites and arthropods in general
> Its ion-channel mechanism of action against parasites has no application to viruses.
A whole lot of people will ignore or rationalize away evidence that disagrees with what they have already decided is true.
People are more likely to believe Mel Gibson than a scientist on this stuff, it’s going to lead to absolute disaster.
I also got a fairly early strain of COVID and didn't have Ivermectin and I got over it pretty easily too? I just thought I pushed it too hard in the gym and felt a bit tired. My cousin got it, ended up in hospital on Oxygen.
Joe Rogan is just a fool and a propagandist.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016635422...
If there are 100 licensed MDs telling you it’s BS, and 1 telling you it’s a miracle cure…
“Doctor.”
There’s no shortage of credentialed quacks out there.
Why shocked?
It seems quite normal since we live in an age where there is no accountability for spouting that stuff, and probably a major economic upside for the person spouting it.
Snake oil has never had a bigger market than it has today, aided by the Internet as a platform.
Success in a media marketplace is not the same as quality, honesty, or integrity.
That seems like it will interfere with careless randomized controlled trial design. If the drug kills mosquitos, it could easily do less well at preventing the user from getting infected by a mosquito, but it could potentially prevent an infected patient from spreading an infection via mosquito or even kill a mosquito that would otherwise subsequently spread an infection between two other people.
In any case, here’s a better article. It seems the authors are very much aware of this issue, and they randomized entire clusters of people:
https://www.science.org/content/article/well-known-drug-coul...
[0] https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2015/press-releas...
the reduction of infection is by reduction of mosquito population.
> Four states -- Tennessee, Arkansas, Idaho, and Louisiana -- have passed OTC ivermectin laws
> [Nine] other states have bills moving through their legislatures
If the paper is legitimate, then the effect could be better with weekly dosing and much better with twice-a-week dosing.