Cardiac effects and toxicity of chloroquine: a short update.
Int J Antimicrob Agents
; 56(2): 106057, 2020 Aug.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2095448
ABSTRACT
There is currently increased interest in the use of the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of other diseases, including cancer and viral infections such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the risk of cardiotoxic effects tends to limit their use. In this review, the effects of these drugs on the electrical and mechanical activities of the heart as well as on remodelling of cardiac tissue are presented and the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms are discussed. The drugs can have proarrhythmic as well as antiarrhythmic actions resulting from their inhibition of ion channels, including voltage-dependent Na+ and Ca2+ channels, background and voltage-dependent K+ channels, and pacemaker channels. The drugs also exert a vagolytic effect due at least in part to a muscarinic receptor antagonist action. They also interfere with normal autophagy flux, an effect that could aggravate ischaemia/reperfusion injury or post-infarct remodelling. Most of the toxic effects occur at high concentrations, following prolonged drug administration or in the context of drug associations.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Chloroquine
/
Coronavirus Infections
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Antimicrob Agents
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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