A major
British trial, code-named RECOVERY, has declared a drug the biggest
breakthrough.
£5 drug known
as dexamethasone has been found to be a silver bullet to cure coronavirus.
The virus as
at today has killed over 430,000 and infected over 8 million people worldwide.
The drug,
which is a steroid, reduces the risk of dying from coronavirus by a third in
patients on ventilators.
So far, there
is no established cure yet for the virus.
According to
Daily Mail, dexamethasone was also shown to save the lives of a fifth of
Covid-19 sufferers with moderate illness receiving oxygen.
The results
from the RECOVERY trial suggest the steroid can prevent death in one in eight
ventilated coronavirus patients and one in 25 on oxygen.
Dexamethasone,
which is given either via an injection or as a once-a-day tablet, becomes the
first drug proven to treat the incurable viral disease, the Mail said.
“It is
commonly prescribed to patients with allergic disorders, skin conditions,
ulcerative colitis, arthritis, lupus and psoriasis.
“The steroid
prevents the release of substances in the body that cause inflammation, a nasty
side effect of coronavirus infection that makes breathing difficult.
“In seriously
unwell Covid-19 patients, the lungs become so damaged they struggle to take in
oxygen and keep vital organs functioning”.
Scientists
behind RECOVERY, led by Oxford University, are recommending all 400 coronavirus
patients currently intubated in NHS hospitals are prescribed the drug.
Professor
Martin Landray, lead author of the study, said dexamethasone could have saved
around 5,000 lives if it was used throughout the UK’s crisis.
He hailed the
finding as the biggest breakthrough so far in the search for a Covid-19
treatment.
‘If you were
to design a drug that treats coronavirus, this would be exactly how you’d hope
it works,’ he said. ‘
Read More in
The Mail
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