Trump reportedly pushing new unproven coronavirus treatment that is also embraced by HUD Sec. Ben Carson and MyPillow's Mike Lindell

Business Insider via MSN ^ | 08/17/2020 | Lauren Frias

[SeekAndFind]

President Donald Trump is eyeing another unproven coronavirus "cure," at the recommendation of Housing and Urban Development Sec. Ben Carson, Axios reported Sunday.

Oleandrin — a botanical extract from the oleander plant — was suggested to the president by Carson in a meeting in the Oval Office in July, according to the Axios report.

MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell, who's known to be well-connected with the president, also expressed support for the experimental extract. Lindell also has a financial stake in the company developing the oleandrin product, Phoenix Biotechnology.

Lindell told Axios that Trump "basically said: …'The FDA should be approving it,'" regarding oleandrin as a potential treatment for the coronavirus.

With the help of Lindell, Andrew Whitney, an executive at Phoenix Biotechnology, personally met with the president to discuss the medical effects of oleandrin, The Washington Post reported earlier this month.

In an interview with Axios, Whitney said he stood by his claim that oleandrin "cured" COVID-19 in a span of two days, and he is actively pushing for the botanical extract to make it to shelves — even as a dietary supplement instead of an approved coronavirus treatment to speed up its distribution.

"Now, there are all sorts of lawyers who would tell me I can't say things like that, because you know you need to have years of studies, and you need to have this, that, and the other, and so forth," Whitney told Axios. "But as an American with a right of free expression, I'm telling you, I've seen it with my own eyes."

[SeekAndFind]

What Is Oleandrin? Trump Reportedly Wants FDA to Approve Plant Extract for Coronavirus

(EXCERPT)

Oleandrin is a botanical extract from the oleander plant—an evergreen shrub or small tree that is highly toxic to humans and many animals if any part is ingested. Oleandrin is one of several toxic compounds that the plant contains.

Some "in vitro" research—a term used to refer to studies done in test tubes rather than animals or humans—has suggested that the substance could potentially be useful as a treatment for various cancers, including those of the colon, pancreas and prostate.

Furthermore, one in vitro study published in the journal Fitoterapia found that the compound inhibits the ability of HIV to establish an infection, although it should be noted that the results of test tube studies do not always translate into animal or human models.

Professor Sharon Lewin, an internationally renowned expert on antiviral drugs from the University of Melbourne in Australia, told Axios: "Oleandrin looks to have antiviral activity at high doses in a test-tube model. You'd certainly want to see more work done on this before even contemplating a human trial" for its effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19.

While one paper published in July by researchers from the University of Texas at Galveston indicated that oleandrin inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in monkey kidney cells, its conclusions should be viewed with caution. The paper, which lists Robert Newman—chairman of Phoenix Biotechnology's scientific advisory board—as an author has not been peer-reviewed. This means it is yet to undergo evaluation by experts in the field in order to be published in a scientific journal.

In May 2020 the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) conducted some preliminary testing of oleandrin against SARS-CoV-2. The results were "inconclusive," a spokesperson, Caree Vander Linden, told Axios.

"Additionally, USAMRIID was contacted by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, indicating that they were also testing it," Vander Linden said. "Given our inconclusive results, and having other high priority therapeutics to assess, we did not continue with this line of research."

Aside from the aforementioned research, there appear to be no other published papers testing oleandrin's efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 in animals or humans. However, Whitney told Axios on Saturday that an unpublished lab study testing oleandrin on humans as a COVID-19 treatment is in the process of being peer-reviewed.

Whitney says that oleandrin can "cure" COVID-19, causing symptoms to disappear "in the vast majority of cases," Axios reported, although there is currently insufficient publicly available evidence to back up these claims.

"We have something that we believe will address the problem and we want to make it available," Whitney told Axios. "We believe we should be given the opportunity to demonstrate that in a hospital clinical trial setting and we believe that must happen now and not a month from now."

The company is exploring oleandrin as a potential COVID-19 treatment—something which would require the drug to undergo rigorous human clinical trials. However, Phoenix Biotechnology is also pushing the FDA to allow oleandrin to be sold as a dietary supplement. This could happen quickly, according to Whitney, although the company would not be allowed to make claims about its effectiveness in treating or curing COVID-19.

[Pollard]

Oleander is a plant. Its use as a poison is well known. Some of the deaths from oleander are accidental but others are due to suicide. In parts of Asia it is commonly used as a suicide agent.

Despite the danger, oleander seeds and leaves are used to make medicine. Oleander is used for heart conditions, asthma, epilepsy, cancer, painful menstrual periods, leprosy, malaria, ringworm, indigestion, and venereal disease. Oleander is also used to cause abortions.

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-789/oleander

I think I like hydroxy better than a suicide and abortion agent

[silverleaf]

Oleander plant will kill you
The extract used must be very refined small and comtrolled

The media is highly irresponsible to put this out with Trump’s name just because he met with a scientist. And because they hate the Christian Mike Lindell. I think they want to kill people, like the fish tank cleaner

[blackdog]

How strange Dr.Ben Carson, a renowned surgeon, is now just some schlub?

[ClearCase_guy]

The bottomline is that the President is searching for solutions to a problem.

This outrages the Media. A Democrat would never do such a thing.

[kiryandil]

Lauren doesn’t give a rip how many people die - just as long as it hurts Orange Man Bad...

[George from New England]

Personally I would feel better and be more inclined to go out into the world and take risks IF ...

I knew I could get treated with this Hydroxychloroquine

As long as factions in the CDC and FDA are blocking my getting treatment, it leaves me hiding in quarantine until ...

[null and void]

How strange Dr.Ben Carson, a renowned surgeon, is now just some schlub?

Well duh!

In the eyes of the left, agreeing with Trump on anything is an automatic 90 point IQ drop!

[familyop]

Oh, boy. That irresponsible publicity is one way to kill off a lot of snowbirds.

[small farm girl]

and Digitalis, Monkshood, Pennyroyal, Salix...many haplessly growing in the backyard.

[Flick Lives]

at the recommendation of Housing and Urban Development Sec. Ben Carson...

—

Interesting. No mention at all in the article that Ben Carson is in fact a doctor. In fact a pediatric neurosurgeon. I’m sure it’s just an innocent oversight.

[kiryandil]

As long as factions in the CDC and FDA are blocking my getting treatment, it leaves me hiding in quarantine until ...

All over ten bucks worth of "malaria candy"...

https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/resources/pdf/fsp/drugs/Hydroxychloroquine.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1lVp5ucnLK9g_crh1lro-BHlgFiqXT7sOP30lNVtTLvWCxZT5dcbB4MuM

[backtobasics]

Artemisia Annua,(aka sweet annie, sweet wormwood, or mugwort), would be a better choice of natural anti-virals.

[Ancesthntr]

Don’t worry much about HCQ not being available.
The reason why HCQ works is because it is a zinc ionophore - it lets zinc into the cells, and the zinc stops the virus (and malaria, and lots of other viruses) from replicating. That’s why it is important to take it as soon as symptoms appear - you stop it dead in its tracks before it can do its true damage, which is setting off a cytokine storm in your body (where your immune system kicks into such overdrive to kill the virus that it kills YOU).

There are other zinc ionophores - with quercetin being one of the best known, highest quality (for a natural substance) and best studied. It is about 1/3 as effective as a zinc ionophore as HCQ is, meaning that you probably need to take your zinc with about 1200 mg of quercetin to equal having the 400 mg dose of HCQ that is usually taken on days 2-5 of the treatment (Day 1 has double that). But this is only if you have China virus symptoms. Note that it is safe in doses as high as 10,000 mg/day. It is found naturally in onions, apples and capers, but not in huge quantities - you need to use supplements.

I take a mixture every other day from Life Extension Foundation that has 1000 mg of C with 15 mg of highly bioavailable quercetin (equivalent to 250 mg of what you usually buy in the stores), plus 50 mg of zinc. I wear a mask when in stores and wash my hands, and thus I’m not worried much about exposure - so this preventative dose is IMHO sufficient for me, since if I was infected, this mixture would go after it from the first moment, not starting a few days later when symptoms presented.

[TexasCruzin]

I take the exact same Bio Quercetin product from Life Extension but also take a 25 mg zinc tablet along with it and I take it every day.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

Don’t forget botox. Deadly poison used by all the beautiful people.

[Ancesthntr]

I will probably go to everyday pretty soon. School started today for my son (electronic, of course) and my daughter next week. She’s in a paramedic program, and will have to go to class for 8 hours each Friday; in November they start clinicals in the local hospital. Son may start going to class in person as soon as 4 weeks from now. I am thinking about returning to my actual office (instead of my living room) on a full-time basis pretty soon, also. So I need to step up my game.

Glad to see another LEF’er out there. They really make a bunch of quality products, and I love their magazine - truly cutting edge, and I’ve been reading it for over 25 years.

[faucetman]

I take Sandhus ZINC/QUERCETIN 22mg zinc, 800mg quercetin per day (2 capsules).

Walmart.com $19.95, Amazon.com $24.95, 120 capsules/60 day supply. Along with Vitamin D3, C, B12, Selenium, Omega 3, 6, & 9, and several other supplements for various other reasons.

I wear a mask only where I have to (NOT while driving alone in my car).

I am NOT concerned about getting COVID-19. I’ll just fight it off if I do and have symptoms. I’m not so sure that I didn’t have it before the pandemic. A mild case. My wife as well shortly after me and she was sicker and it lasted longer with her. Who knows for sure. Only God.

[tbpiper]

So now the HUD secretary thinks he’s a doctor........