Coronavirus (NO POLITICAL OR SOCIAL COMMENTARY PLEASE)

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Gold Ranger

How does plasma help?
I've been donating since July/August last year.

contains non-synthetic antibodies, not as targeted as those of Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody cocktail. By now there should be lots of information on the web about it.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by Ray O. Blu

I have zero sympathy for anyone that mocks other people for wearing a mask to protect themself and others.

If you saw how my mom wraps herself up when she goes out, you'd laugh too!

[Member-222782]

Sorry if this is a silly question but should I worry about my Air Conditioner pulling in COVID particles from outside air into my apartment? I'm on the first floor and my windows run parallel to an alley frequently used by my neighbors as a party spot. There have been at least 3 blowouts (there's one right now) this Summer with people (including kids) carrying on without masks. I'm not the kind of person to call the cops on my neighbors, plus one of those who hold soirees is my Super and I certainly don't want to get on his sh!t list (he'll know it was me who called the cops). Never mind the noise pollution - Hard to believe people are still ignoring safety protocols even after the President was diagnosed.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by BucketheadPikes

We deserve truth & transparency,

Bucket , I eventually got to watch a rerun of the news conference from Walter Reed later this afternoon after my soccer fix.

So, not asked (nor spontaneously revealed by the Docs), inquiring minds might wonder, why order the CT of the lungs? Well, if the team has decided on aggressive management from the get-go for a patient of the status of the leader of the free world, you thusly pull out all stops. Experimental therapeutics, extensive monitoring, plenty of staff, etc. And you have nothing to lose by doing a quick CT as it is essentially risk free as radiation dose is inconsequential.

The knowledge gained? - there have been cases, e.g. Patient #1 and Patient #2 with essentially normal O2 saturation levels, but…..evidence already of lung involvement with the virus –https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7118637/

which would be a good thing to know with regards to staying on top of the situation in terms of further therapeutic management, not to mention easing concerns of the general public if his lungs are clear. CT is much more sensitive than chest radiographs.

[BucketheadPikes]

^^ Penton-Man, they were definitely being evasive & cherry-picking information.

And, it's my understanding that to receive the experimental Regeneron cocktail, or any experimental drug treatment, a Compassionate Use Request must be filed with the FDA. Apparently, the President had to go through this process. According to Timothy J. Moynihan, M.D. on the Mayo Clinic website, for someone to receive an experimental drug through the Compassionate Use Program, their doctor must contact the drug company and then submit an application to the FDA. For the FDA to consider the request, the patient must meet certain criteria:

1. Your disease is serious or immediately life-threatening.
2. No treatment is available or you haven't been helped by approved treatments for your disease.
3. You aren't eligible for clinical trials of the experimental drug.
4. Your doctor agrees that you have no other options and the experimental treatment may help you.
5. Your doctor feels the benefit justifies the potential risks of the treatment.
6. The company that makes the drug agrees to provide it to you.

[Gold Ranger]

What are the risks and side effects of using the T-Virus... Sorry, I mean Regeneron?

[BucketheadPikes]

Originally Posted by Gold Ranger

What are the risks and side effects of using the T-Virus... Sorry, I mean Regeneron?

From my understanding, it's only been used in 275 patients. No patients died in the trial, and side effects were minimal. Of the 275 patients, 4 patients had infusion reactions while 2 patients suffered severe side effects. I couldn't find any details concerning those 6 patients.

George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron stated:

"The greatest treatment benefit was in patients who had not mounted their own effective immune response, suggesting that REGN-COV2 could provide a therapeutic substitute for the naturally-occurring immune response. These patients were less likely to clear the virus on their own, and were at greater risk for prolonged symptoms. We are highly encouraged by the robust and consistent nature of these initial data, as well as the emerging well-tolerated safety profile, and we have begun discussing our findings with regulatory authorities while continuing our ongoing trials. In addition to having positive implications for REGN-COV2 trials and those of other antibody therapies, these data also support the promise of vaccines targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein."

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by BucketheadPikes

^^ Penton-Man, they were definitely being evasive & cherry-picking information.

I relistened to the press conference….the whole thing this time. Positive is that the attending physician mentioned that they are doing daily pulmonary ultrasounds. However suspiciously, the attending was unwilling to answer the question from the reporter as to whether there has been any sign of lung damage, whatsoever. On the other hand, not hesitating at all to specify, exactly, his good oxygen saturation.

I paid little attention to the whole timeline/testing issue, but as to the *clean-up*, it is not a good sign as to author authenticity when the attending physician has not signed the ‘timeline’ Memorandum (like he did do with the first memo regarding the President’s general care) and notably the misspelling of something as rudimentary as Regeneron. I hope there is not something nefarious going on like with what happened with the inserting of guidelines by outside sources into the CDC website.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by BucketheadPikes

From my understanding,

sounds good
b.t.w., under the radar back in July - https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...r#post17909220

but quite the talk of the internet these days

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by BucketheadPikes

We deserve truth & transparency,

Bucket, my wife’s understanding after listening to the guarded statements by the President’s attending physician (who you really can’t blame because he is likely being muffled as to what he can reveal publicly) is that on Thursday or early Friday before going to hospital, his condition deteriorated and he was given supplemental O2 and the decision was made to transfer him to Walter Reed

where some of the country’s best doctors and the President himself chose an experimental medicine with very limited data for treatment over that of hydroxychloroquine and that he indeed has evidence of, at the minimum, peripheral lung damage which they’ve identified on ultrasound, but won’t admit to. He may have also gotten a CT scan which offers a more comprehensive view of the lungs for more central lesions and can also help identify complications such as an infarction, etc. After watching the evening news, apparently, he’s received his second dose of Remdisivir by now.

[BucketheadPikes]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Bucket, my wife’s understanding after listening to the guarded statements by the President’s attending physician (who you really can’t blame because he is likely being muffled as to what he can reveal publicly) is that on Thursday, his condition deteriorated and he was given supplemental O2 and the decision was made to transfer him to Walter Reed

where some of the country’s best doctors and the President himself chose an experimental medicine with very limited data for treatment over that of hydroxychloroquine and that he indeed has evidence of at the minimum, peripheral lung damage which they’ve identified on ultrasound, but won’t admit to. He may have also gotten a CT scan which offers a more comprehensive view of the lungs for more central lesions and can also help identify complications such as an infarction, etc. After watching the evening news, apparently, he’s received his second dose of Remdisivir by now.

I understand right to privacy & even national security concerns. My "truth & transparency" remark was specifically directed at the timeline discrepancy pertaining to when he first tested positive. Also, I think it would be wise for them to release the exact time & date of his last negative test, prior to his first positive test. I see no harm in doing that.

[Anthony P]

COVID-19 Can Wreck Your Heart, Even if You Haven’t Had Any Symptoms

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...20inflammation.

[Pondosinatra]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

COVID-19 Can Wreck Your Heart, Even if You Haven’t Had Any Symptoms

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...20inflammation.

Which is a concern, especially if your heart is already wrecked...

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Pondosinatra

Which is a concern, especially if your heart is already wrecked...

absolutely, but even for healthy young asymptotic people it means their life expectancy takes a dive. They wont die immediately and it might seem like no big deal (after all when you have the flue you need a few days in bed and.... while this is asymptotic) but it ultimately is. Is a few minutes of FOMO now more important that a few years of missing out later on?

[Penton-Man]

yesterday’s post –

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Bucket, my wife’s understanding after listening to the guarded statements by the President’s attending physician (who you really can’t blame because he is likely being muffled as to what he can reveal publicly) is that on Thursday or early Friday before going to hospital, his condition deteriorated and he was given supplemental O2 and the decision was made to transfer him to Walter Reed

where some of the country’s best doctors and the President himself chose an experimental medicine with very limited data for treatment over that of hydroxychloroquine and that he indeed has evidence of, at the minimum, peripheral lung damage which they’ve identified on ultrasound, but won’t admit to. He may have also gotten a CT scan which offers a more comprehensive view of the lungs for more central lesions and can also help identify complications such as an infarction, etc. After watching the evening news, apparently, he’s received his second dose of Remdisivir by now.

today’s briefing at Walter Reed-
https://www.c-span.org/video/?476599...tinues-improve

So, it looks like yesterday my wife nailed it perfectly as to what is/was really going on. Finally, the attending admitted that the patient did get supplemental 02 and that the President does have lung damage. He essentially downplayed the findings suggesting (which is good news, as despite one’s political affiliation we are all Americans and human beings), that the President does not have large or widespread damage or pulmonary complications - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles...020.00375/full

As far as reading between the lines with today’s conference, my wife said over morning breakfast that it is interesting that the Pulmonary specialist from Walter Reed mentioned that “continued monitoring of his cardiac, liver and kidney function demonstrates continued normal findings or improving findings”, whereas the Pulmonary Specialist from Hopkins right after stated that the President’s kidney and liver functions remained normal, not mentioning anything about his cardiac function. To learn more, at the next briefing one of those reporters should ask if the President’s troponin level - https://advances.massgeneral.org/car...e.aspx?id=1227
is normal and query the docs with additional, more specific cardiac related questions.

Finally, a couple things to note regarding this whole ordeal is that if you or anyone else were to get COVID-19, they would not receive such close and aggressive (breaking protocol like with for instance Remdesivir) clinical monitoring/management so if the President indeed pulls through, it really is not indicative of the odds for others, so inform your friends and families not to become complacent as we are still very much in the midst of this pandemic….stay positive MrHT, test negative. Secondly, it remains to be seen for quite a while whether the President will progress into a ‘long hauler’.

[Pondosinatra]

"Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease specialist at Emory School of Medicine, said dexamethasone should only be given to seriously ill patients. But based on what the President's doctors said, Trump could be seriously ill."

[MifuneFan]

Seems like they're throwing everything at him, regardless of the seriousness of his illness.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Seems like they're throwing everything at him, regardless of the seriousness of his illness.

bingo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nIV7P3dNgg#t=3m42s
^ -> my wife mentioned to me in what I describe as one of her unpublished case reports during our lunch of which you won’t find on the internet at this time, a much tougher dilemma regarding COVID-19 patient management

- unlike the President, the patient sorely needed Dex due to his much more advanced disease but, consider that
- the patient is markedly vision impaired from long standing advanced glaucoma in both eyes and…
- is a STRONG steroid responder, meaning that whenever he received even small doses Prednisone (which b.t.w. is ~ 6x less potent than Dex) by mouth in the past, his intraocular pressure would jump very high (in the mid to high 30’s after only several days of therapy and remain too high until washing out, which takes awhile)
- so, giving Dex for COVID-19 could put him at further risk for losing more of his eyesight as he is already standing, so to speak, on the edge of a cliff in terms of his remaining functional retinal cells by way of his RNFL studies
- patient is thusly presented with either putting his life in jeopardy by refusing Dex treatment, or possibly becoming even further blind resulting in a marked change in the quality of his life


- what would you choose if in the same situation?
risking life, or risking near total blindness for the remainder of your life if you successfully battled COVID?

[Staying Salty]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

So, I don’t know what’s truly going on...

...But Penton-Man, given your background, would you agree that what is shown on the “Big Screen” is only the message that they want the audience to see.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

- what would you choose if in the same situation?
risking life, or risking near total blindness for the remainder of your life if you successfully battled COVID?

nobody?
a little social history so you can put yourself in his shoes as much as possible
in his 60’s
not married, lives alone

P.S.
I'll tell you what he chose and the outcome