Dexamethasone Appears To Prevent Damage Inflicted When Immune System Goes Into Overdrive
As Covid-19 spreads through most parts of the world, global health authorities are scrambling to find a cure.
Thus, they would have been interested to know that a breakthrough was found on Tuesday (16 Jun) when British health experts announced that an inexpensive and widely available drug may prove effective in saving the lives of severely ill Covid-19 patients.
Dexamethasone is the name of this drug.
Drug protects immune system
According to the BBC, the drug “appears to help” prevent the damage that occurs when one’s immune system “goes into overdrive” to battle the virus.
In some cases, this “over-reaction” by the body’s immune system can prove fatal.
Drug reduces mortality for patients
These findings came to light during an Oxford University -led trial, which examined existing drugs and its effects on Covid-19.
About 2,000 hospital patients were given Dexamethasone, and 4,000 were not. compared with more than 4,000 who were not.
When they were compared, it was found that Dexamethasone was successful in reducing mortality significantly:
- It reduced the mortality of patients on ventilators from 40% to 28%
- It reduced the mortality of patients needing oxygen from 25% to 20%
The trial’s lead researcher, Professor Martin Landray, put it in another way. He said it suggested that for every 8 patients on a ventilator, one can be saved.
And for every 20 to 25 treated with oxygen, one can be saved.
Drug costs just S$8.75 per patient
That’s not all the good news — the drug is pretty cheap too.
A course of treatment is up to 10 days, but it costs merely £5 (S$8.75) per patient.
This equates to around £35 (S$61.24) to save a life, the trial’s chief investigator, Professor Peter Horby, was quoted by the BBC as saying.
Apart from being inexpensive, the steroid is also readily available.
Described by Prof Horby as being “on the shelf“, the drug is seen as a “huge benefit” for poorer countries with a huge outbreak of Covid-19.
Don’t consume it at home
While the drug appears to show promising signs for Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms, the BBC reported that members of the public should not buy and consume it at home.
In fact, the drug apparently does not improve the condition of patients with milder symptoms who do not require breathing aid.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quoted by the BBC was saying that the findings were “a remarkable British scientific achievement”, and the government had taken steps to ensure that it had enough supplies of the drug.
Other drugs used to treat Covid-19
Other drugs have also been trialled for likely effects on curbing Covid-19, but with their share of drawbacks.
A trial for Hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria, started in March but has since been suspended after it was found to increase the risk of death and cardiac issues.
Another drug, Remdesivir, has shown that it may help improve recovery rates of severely ill patients, and has already been approved by Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority for conditional use on severe Covid-19 cases.
However, Remdesivir is not a miracle cure and shouldn’t be treated as one.
Effective drug found, vaccine’s next
If Dexamethasone is indeed useful in reducing the mortality rates of Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms, it’ll certainly come as good news for countries around the world facing a huge outbreak.
Now that an effective drug has been found to reduce mortality rates, the only thing left to keep this virus under control is a vaccine.
Till then, let’s remain vigilant and follow safe-distancing measures to reduce the chance of spreading Covid-19.
Featured image adapted from Instagram.
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