{"id":115312,"date":"2020-08-17T08:37:12","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T12:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=115312"},"modified":"2020-08-17T08:37:12","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T12:37:12","slug":"life-saving-coronavirus-drug-major-breakthrough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/life-saving-coronavirus-drug-major-breakthrough\/","title":{"rendered":"Life-saving coronavirus drug \u2018major breakthrough\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(BBC NEWS)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

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A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus.<\/p>\n

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The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus, UK experts say.<\/p>

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The drug is part of\u00a0the world\u2019s biggest trial testing existing treatments<\/a>\u00a0to see if they also work for coronavirus.<\/p>

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It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.<\/p>\n

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Had the drug had been used to treat patients in the UK from the start of the pandemic, up to 5,000 lives could have been saved, researchers say.<\/p>

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And it could be of huge benefit in poorer countries with high numbers of Covid-19 patients.<\/p>\n

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The UK government has 200,000 courses of the drug in its stockpile and says the NHS will make dexamethasone available to patients.<\/p>

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was a genuine case to celebrate \u201ca remarkable British scientific achievement\u201d, adding: \u201cWe have taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies, even in the event of a second peak.\u201d<\/p>

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Chief Medical Officer for England Prof Chris Whitty said it would save lives around the world.<\/p>\n

About 19 out of 20 patients with coronavirus recover without being admitted to hospital.<\/p>\n

Of those who are admitted, most also recover but some may need oxygen or mechanical ventilation.<\/p>\n

And these are the high-risk patients dexamethasone appears to help.<\/p>\n

The drug is already used to reduce inflammation in a range of other conditions, including arthritis, asthma and some skin conditions.<\/p>\n

And it appears to help stop some of the damage that can happen when the body\u2019s immune system goes into overdrive as it tries to fight off coronavirus.<\/p>\n

This over-reaction,\u00a0a cytokine storm<\/a>, can be deadly.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0the trial<\/a>, led by a team from Oxford University, about 2,000 hospital patients were given dexamethasone and compared with more than 4,000 who were not.<\/p>\n

For patients on ventilators, it cut the risk of death from 40% to 28%.<\/p>\n

For patients needing oxygen, it cut the risk of death from 25% to 20%.<\/p>\n

Chief investigator Prof Peter Horby said: \u201cThis is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality \u2013 and it reduces it significantly. It\u2019s a major breakthrough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lead researcher Prof Martin Landray said the findings suggested one life could be saved for:<\/p>\n