Dexamethasone Found To Help Reduce Severe COVID-19 Deaths

The race to find a vaccine that can work against the new coronavirus is still on but a recent announcement by a research team at Oxford University offers a glimmer of hope. A large trial conducted in the United Kingdom (U.K.) has found that dexamethasone, a cheap and widely available steroid, can cut deaths by up to 35% among patients critically ill with COVID-19.

The researchers trialed the drug dexamethasone on around 2,000 patients receiving treatment for COVID-19 in hospitals. Based on the study, the trial was significantly able to reduce the number of deaths among seriously ill COVID-19 patients. The results of the study were so promising that the researchers immediately shared the good news with the wider medical profession.

Dexamethasone has long been used in treating croup, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and brain swelling by helping suppress the immune system. While the immune system of patients with severe COVID-19 tends to over-respond to the coronavirus by attacking both the infected and healthy cells, dexamethasone makes sure that the immune system only targets the infected cells.

The success of the trial is a breakthrough in the field of research, as the drug is now being used to treat severe COVID-19. Since the drug has long been used as treatment for other conditions, it is no longer on patent so it is relatively cheap. That means even the poorest countries most affected by COVID-19 can have easy access to dexamethasone.

Despite that, scientific experts have noted that the steroid does not prevent people from acquiring the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 so nobody should purchase or take it without prescription and medical supervision. It is also important to note that while dexamethasone has been found effective in treating severe cases of COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) is still looking at other drugs that can treat mild to moderate cases of the disease.

One of the drugs being tested today is the combination of antiviral drugs used to treat HIV, lopinavir-ritonavir, both known to slow down the rate at which viruses multiply in the human body.