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Review
. 2021 May 13;18(12):2673-2688.
doi: 10.7150/ijms.58147. eCollection 2021.

Repurposing New Use for Old Drug Chloroquine against Metabolic Syndrome: A Review on Animal and Human Evidence

Sok Kuan Wong  1
Affiliations
Review

Repurposing New Use for Old Drug Chloroquine against Metabolic Syndrome: A Review on Animal and Human Evidence

Sok Kuan Wong. Int J Med Sci. .

Abstract

Chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are traditional anti-malarial drugs that have been repurposed for new therapeutic uses in many diseases due to their simple usage and cost-effectiveness. The pleiotropic effects of CQ and HCQ in regulating blood pressure, glucose homeostasis, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism have been previously described in vivo and in humans, thus suggesting their role in metabolic syndrome (MetS) prevention. The anti-hyperglycaemic, anti-hyperlipidaemic, cardioprotective, anti-hypertensive, and anti-obesity effects of CQ and HCQ might be elicited through reduction of inflammatory response and oxidative stress, improvement of endothelial function, activation of insulin signalling pathway, inhibition of lipogenesis and autophagy, as well as regulation of adipokines and apoptosis. In conclusion, the current state of knowledge supported the repurposing of CQ and HCQ usage in the management of MetS.

Keywords: diabetes; dyslipidaemia; hypertension; immunomodulation; inflammation; obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The mechanism of action of CQ and HCQ in improving MetS conditions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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