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A possible treatment for COVID-19, heavily touted by U.S. President Donald Trump in recent weeks, has been withdrawn from high-dose use in a Brazilian trial because it was feared to be having adverse effects on patients’ hearts.

Chloroquine, normally a drug used to treat malaria, has inspired hope in some medical circles amid reports that it can help to offset the symptoms of the deadly virus. But the New York Times reports that a recent clinical trial saw patients develop irregular heartbeats, a number of whom developed heart arrhythmias and later died.

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The similar drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been pushed by Trump as a possible partial solution to the pandemic in the U.S., where they are sold under brand names like Nivaquine and Plaquenil. The Times reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency approval for the use of both drugs at U.S. hospitals, and U.S. companies have begun producing them in greater numbers. Trump has been vociferous on the drugs’ potential benefits, but among those to contradict his views are his own top expert Anthony Fauci, who has provided regular updates to Americans on the crisis. During one recent daily White House coronavirus briefing, Trump stepped in and prevented Fauci from answering a question about hydroxychloroquine.