Elon Musk has opened up about contracting malaria in 2000, saying he had a "near fatal case" of the disease.
In several tweets on Monday night, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO described what happened when he contracted falciparum, a potentially fatal form of malaria that can affect the central nervous system or cause "acute respiratory distress," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Musk said he thinks a drug that was used to treat his illness would be effective in treating the novel coronavirus.
"Had near fatal case of falciparum," Musk tweeted. "Would've died for sure if not for chloroquine. Doesn't mean it works for C19, but maybe better than nothing."
He went on to say he was misdiagnosed twice before doctors discovered he had malaria.
Musk contracted the illness during a trip to Brazil and South Africa with his then wife Justine in December 2000, and it's one reason he famously no longer takes vacations.
"That's my lesson for taking a vacation," Musk said in the book "Elon Musk." "Vacations will kill you."
The drug that Musk mentioned in his tweets, chloroquine, is typically used to treat malaria. But doctors have been testing its effectiveness in treating the novel coronavirus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19.
Researchers in Barcelona have been giving the drug to people who have been in close contact with coronavirus patients because studies have suggested it could prevent the virus from reproducing. Doctors in China are testing the drug on patients with the disease, and immunologists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundationsaid they are testing chloroquine as well.
The drug has some side effects, including stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and in some cases, itching. More severe side effects include cardiac failure caused by cardiomyopathy when patients are treated long-term in high doses, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. Patients have also experienced central nervous system disorders, muscular weakness, anemia, and vision and hearing degeneration, according to the FDA.
Musk isn't a doctor, nor is he an expert on infectious diseases. While the drug is being tested and used to treat patients, there's currently no scientific proof of its effectiveness yet. Currently, there is no vaccine for coronavirus, though there are multiple vaccines undergoing clinical trials.
As of Tuesday, 185,000 people have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide, and 7,300 people have died. In the US, there have been cases reported in almost every state, and at least 92 coronavirus deaths have been confirmed.
See original here:
Elon Musk says drugs that treated his malaria could treat coronavirus - Business Insider - Business Insider
- Jake Diekman throws BP session for Rangers | MLB.com - MLB.com - August 6th, 2017 [August 6th, 2017]
- Cerebral palsy: Symptoms, diagnosis, treatment - December 5th, 2017 [December 5th, 2017]
- Hypothalamus - the body's thermostat | ASU - Ask A Biologist - December 6th, 2017 [December 6th, 2017]
- When Stroke Affects the Thalamus - Stroke Connection ... - December 28th, 2017 [December 28th, 2017]
- The Endocrine System: Hypothalamus and Pituitary - December 28th, 2017 [December 28th, 2017]
- Hypothalamus - Anatomy, Blood supply and Function | Kenhub - December 28th, 2017 [December 28th, 2017]
- Ulcerative Colitis - Cedars-Sinai - January 6th, 2018 [January 6th, 2018]
- Ulcerative colitis - Treatment - NHS.UK - January 7th, 2018 [January 7th, 2018]
- Business Directory | Uptown Waterloo Business Improvement Area - January 8th, 2018 [January 8th, 2018]
- Will States Continue To Fund Stem Cell Research? : Shots ... - January 28th, 2018 [January 28th, 2018]
- Spinal Cord Injuries - emedicine.medscape.com - February 15th, 2018 [February 15th, 2018]
- Spinal Cord Injuries - spine.org - February 15th, 2018 [February 15th, 2018]
- Journal of Clinical & Experimental Cardiology - Open Access Journals - April 10th, 2018 [April 10th, 2018]
- Cardiology Treatment - Fortis Healthcare - April 10th, 2018 [April 10th, 2018]
- Biology Junction - April 12th, 2018 [April 12th, 2018]
- Managing Right Ventricular Failure in PAH: An Algorithmic ... - April 14th, 2018 [April 14th, 2018]
- Ticagrelor vs Clopidogrel After Fibrinolytic Therapy in ... - April 22nd, 2018 [April 22nd, 2018]
- Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapeutics: William H. Frishman ... - May 13th, 2018 [May 13th, 2018]
- 13 Super Foods Good for Eczema - Top Eczema Treatments - May 15th, 2018 [May 15th, 2018]
- Diagnosis & Treatment of Parkinson's - ParkinsonsDisease.net - May 30th, 2018 [May 30th, 2018]
- Arizona Heart Rhythm Center - June 10th, 2018 [June 10th, 2018]
- Ayurvedic Medicines for Ulcerative Colitis | Natural ... - June 21st, 2018 [June 21st, 2018]
- Weinstein Cardiovascular Development and Regeneration Meeting - June 30th, 2018 [June 30th, 2018]
- Ulcerative Colitis Information Centre - July 31st, 2018 [July 31st, 2018]
- Sudden Death in Dogs - Pet Health Network | Pet Health ... - August 7th, 2018 [August 7th, 2018]
- Coronary Heart Disease - Ischaemic heart disease - British ... - August 21st, 2018 [August 21st, 2018]
- Cardiac Rehabilitation: Overview, History and Definition ... - August 25th, 2018 [August 25th, 2018]
- Difference between Cardiac Arrest and Respiratory Arrest ... - August 25th, 2018 [August 25th, 2018]
- ECM for Pericardial Closure - Aziyo - August 25th, 2018 [August 25th, 2018]
- Adult Mental Health | Georgia Department of Behavioral Health ... - September 6th, 2018 [September 6th, 2018]
- Mental Health | ECLKC - September 6th, 2018 [September 6th, 2018]
- Mental Health - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - September 6th, 2018 [September 6th, 2018]
- Center for Vascular Biology - Home | UConn Health - September 22nd, 2018 [September 22nd, 2018]
- # Diabetes Stem Cell Research Diabetes Care Measures - September 30th, 2018 [September 30th, 2018]
- Cardiac Rhythm Disturbances | The Patient Guide to Heart ... - November 2nd, 2018 [November 2nd, 2018]
- Arrhythmia | Cleveland Clinic - November 2nd, 2018 [November 2nd, 2018]
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Wound Healing | Johns ... - November 13th, 2018 [November 13th, 2018]
- NIMH Home - November 24th, 2018 [November 24th, 2018]
- What is an interventional cardiologist? | Heart Surgeries ... - November 26th, 2018 [November 26th, 2018]
- Molecular Cardiology Research Institute Boston | Tufts ... - November 29th, 2018 [November 29th, 2018]
- Lower vascular plant | botany | Britannica.com - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- Welcome to the ABG Tutorial Welcome to Hansen - December 12th, 2018 [December 12th, 2018]
- Cardiac catheterization - Wikipedia - December 12th, 2018 [December 12th, 2018]
- Stem Cell Research & Therapy | Home page - December 22nd, 2018 [December 22nd, 2018]
- Journal of Stem Cell Research and Therapy- Open Access ... - December 22nd, 2018 [December 22nd, 2018]
- Stem-cell therapy - Wikipedia - December 22nd, 2018 [December 22nd, 2018]
- Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology - December 23rd, 2018 [December 23rd, 2018]
- Rhode Island Interventional Cardiology | Cardiovascular ... - December 23rd, 2018 [December 23rd, 2018]
- Interventional Cardiology Certification Policies | ABIM.org - December 23rd, 2018 [December 23rd, 2018]
- Interventional Cardiology - Boston Scientific - December 23rd, 2018 [December 23rd, 2018]
- 9 Benefits of Human Growth Hormone (Along with Side ... - December 27th, 2018 [December 27th, 2018]
- Growth hormone deficiency - Wikipedia - December 27th, 2018 [December 27th, 2018]
- Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, Cardiac Gene Biology | St ... - January 28th, 2019 [January 28th, 2019]
- Cardiomyopathy - CardioSmart - February 8th, 2019 [February 8th, 2019]
- Centenary Institute | Medical Research, Life Saving Research - February 24th, 2019 [February 24th, 2019]
- Cardiovascular Medicine | Department of Medicine - March 29th, 2019 [March 29th, 2019]
- Rapid Test Market 2019 with Recent Trends, Revenue, Demand and Top Manufactures- Bureau Veritas, SGS SA, Intertek Group plc, Eurofins Scientific -... - October 11th, 2019 [October 11th, 2019]
- Medical Imaging Equipment Market Research Report 2019: Global Industry Analysis, Business Development, Size, Share, Trends, Future Growth, Forecast To... - October 11th, 2019 [October 11th, 2019]
- Analysis on the Global DNA Read, Write & Edit Market, 2017-2019 and Forecast to 2024 - Yahoo Finance - October 11th, 2019 [October 11th, 2019]
- Cardiac Surgery Instruments Market is Expected to Tread a Steady Growth Trajectory by Clocking a CAGR of 5.9% from 2017 to 2022 - Health News Office - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- PEDIATRIC MEDICAL DEVICES MARKET IS PROJECTED TO EXPAND AT A CAGR OF 8.0% FROM 2018 TO 2026 - Health News Office - November 1st, 2019 [November 1st, 2019]
- myTAIHEART Test Provides Evidence for Injury from Biopsy of Heart Transplant Recipients Cardiology2.0 - Cardiology2.0 - November 1st, 2019 [November 1st, 2019]
- Mental health and your heart - British Heart Foundation - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- BUZZ-U.S. STOCKS ON THE MOVE-Cango, Gulfport Energy, Abiomed, Standard Diversified, Wanda Sports, Eidos - Nasdaq - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- Cost Analysis of COPD Exacerbations and Cardiovascular Events in SUMMIT - AJMC.com Managed Markets Network - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- Hundreds walk to defeat ALS in Ancient City - St. Augustine Record - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- Living with Lung Cancer: The Silver Linings - Curetoday.com - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- Building the human spinal cord atlas - SynBioBeta - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- The Week That Wasn't: Keto and the Flu, Human Cyborg, Duvet Disease - Medscape - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- ALS advance offers hope for those diagnosed with deadly disease - WRAL.com - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- ALS Stem Cell Therapy Developer Seeks Amendment to its AstroRx Trial - ALS News Today - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- Former Boston Globe writer, current NHL executive Snow diagnosed with ALS | College Hockey - USCHO - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- AB Science announces the publication of new results in the peer-reviewed journal Glia that further support masitinib's potential mode of action in ALS... - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- Christmas in the City thrills homeless families, takes on poignancy with founders ALS diagnosis - The Boston Globe - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Announces AMX0035 Demonstrated Statistically Significant Treatment Benefit for People with ALS in the CENTAUR Trial - Business... - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- RADICAVA (edaravone) - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- List of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Medications (5 Compared ... - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- Neuropore Completes Phase 1 Clinical Trial in Healthy Volunteers with NPT520-34, a Therapeutic Candidate Aimed at Treating Parkinson's Disease and... - January 14th, 2020 [January 14th, 2020]
- Comprehensive Analysis on Prostacyclin Market based on types and application - Technology Magazine - January 18th, 2020 [January 18th, 2020]
- N.J. karate legend who inspired thousands loses battle with ALS - NJ.com - January 18th, 2020 [January 18th, 2020]