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Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
You have mentioned that Arbidol is only effective for fighting an acute Coxsackie infection. Later on, your referred to a source that leaves it open whether or not Arbidol only works for an acute infection (the authors do not know precisely).

That's correct. Previously, it seemed that Arbidol/Umifenovir worked by blocking viral entry into the cells. Now it's not clear exactly how it works, so it is hard to predict when it might work and when it might not.

the muscle tissue can be re-infected with virus from the motor neurons that are activated when the muscle is contracted. In this case the virus persists in the ganglia of the spinal cord and may travel from the spinal cord through the motor neuron to the muscle, a process that can take a day or so."

Following that mechanism, I think that Arbidol could be beneficial for fighting a chronic Coxsackievirus infection since a further spread of the virus would be blocked by the effect of Arbidol.

Since we don't know exactly how Arbidol/Umifenovir works, we unfortunately can't be sure that it would block viral spread.

Easily put, when a virus can't spread anymore, it stops existing in the course of time as every human cell dies with time.

I wish it were that simple. Not every human cell dies with time. Some cells last for years and some cells last for a lifetime. Brain cells, especially, can last for a lifetime.

I have taken Arbidol for some days now and am curious about how I will feel in the future. I will post my health status.

Thank you for sharing your experience with Arbidol! We may learn more from patient experiences with Arbidol than we might learn from the confusing literature.

Hope this helps.
 

JohnnyMinnesota99

Senior Member
Messages
123
Hey @Pyrrhus ,

Do you have any evidence or sources that prove that Coxsackie can persist in the cells of the human brain? So far, I have already learnt that CVB lives in muscle cells, which might explain fibromyalgia in many patients...

The lifetime of cells varies indeed (weeks, months, year or even a lifetime)... Nevertheless, I am hopeful to some extent that my recovery will continue. I have recovered in the past four years since I contracted the infection in June 2016. This is evidence that recovery can happen. It's seems to be a long process, though :-/

How about specific antivirals that directly fight the Coxsackievirus (Rega Compound...)? Do you think they can tackle the virus that persists in muscle and nerve cells?

Best wishes
 

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
Do you have any evidence or sources that prove that Coxsackie can persist in the cells of the human brain?

Here is one study that found enteroviruses, including coxsackieviruses, in 71% of the brains of people suffering from Post-Polio Syndrome as well as in 17% of the control brains:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8757988/
(Somewhat frustratingly, the authors concluded that there was insufficient data to establish a correlation with disease.)

P.S.: Luckily, even our brain cells redevelop and originate at a great age so there must be development.

Unfortunately, neurogenesis appears to be mostly limited to circumventricular parts of the brain, especially the hippocampus. This is why few brain lesions outside of these areas ever heal completely.

Hope this helps.
 

lint7

Senior Member
Messages
116
@Pyrrhus . Have you tried any other antivirals after Ribavarin and Favipiravir?

I also had symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease when I got sick (mainly herpangina and blisters on my palms). There was also an outbreak of Enterovirus D68 in Canada when I got sick in 2014.

Would some of the newer Hep C drugs like Harvoni have any effect on Enteroviruses?
 

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
@Pyrrhus . Have you tried any other antivirals after Ribavarin and Favipiravir?

I also had symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease when I got sick (mainly herpangina and blisters on my palms). There was also an outbreak of Enterovirus D68 in Canada when I got sick in 2014.

Would some of the newer Hep C drugs like Harvoni have any effect on Enteroviruses?

Unfortunately, the newer Hep C drugs won't work against persistent enteroviruses. :(

I am continuing to investigate new antivirals and I will report back if I find something worthwhile...