Year: 2020
Type: review
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.
Author: Kanigula Mubagwa
Institutions: Université Catholique de Bukavu, KU Leuven
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
Funders: Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad, VLIRUOS
OpenAlex ID: W3036891780