Dexamethasone-the cheap steroid proves first life-saving drug For COVID-19

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2020-06-16 16:43:30

Credit: pixabay.com

Credit: pixabay.com

According to the BBC report, it is an old and inexpensive medicine that has succeeded in saving the lives of a number of seriously ill people with the corona virus. The name of this medicine is- Dexamethasone.

"This is a result that shows that if patients who have COVID-19 and are on ventilators or are on oxygen are given dexamethasone, it will save lives, and it will do so at a remarkably low cost," said Martin Landray, an Oxford University professor who is co-leading the trial.

His co-lead investigator, Peter Horby, said dexamethasone - a generic steroid widely used in other diseases to reduce inflammation - is "the only drug that's so far shown to reduce mortality - and it reduces it significantly."

Dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, is similar to a natural hormone produced by your adrenal glands. It often is used to replace this chemical when your body does not make enough of it. It relieves inflammation (swelling, heat, redness, and pain) and is used to treat certain forms of arthritis; skin, blood, kidney, eye, thyroid, and intestinal disorders (e.g., colitis); severe allergies; and asthma. Dexamethasone is also used to treat certain types of cancer.

Source: BBC News, medlineplus.gov