With great caution, scientists seek Covid treatments in old drugs

‘After two small studies, a cheap drug shows promise. But scientists still feel burned by hydroxychloroquine.

‘Repurposing is a long shot, yet compared to creating drugs and vaccines, the approach has clear advantages during a fast-moving pandemic. “If it works and it’s on the shelf, you don’t have any development time,” said Lisa Danzig, a specialist in infectious diseases who consults with companies, investors, government and philanthropies. One of the best treatments in the Covid arsenal — the common steroid dexamethasone — is a repurposed drug. But it is recommended only for hospitalized patients who are seriously ill.

‘Danzig was “very excited” last April by news that a team led by University of California-San Francisco researchers had identified 69 possible drugs that, when used early on, might counteract infections with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid. “I’m thinking, if we can rapidly test some of these in clinical trials, we can have answers by October.”

‘Yet these studies struggled to get off the ground...’

Read here (Undark, Mar 30, 2021)

Donald Trump’s oxygen levels dropped and he has been treated with steroids, doctors say

‘US President Donald Trump remained in a military hospital on Sunday for a third day amid ­conflicting reports about his ­condition even as doctors reported steady progress adding that he could be released as soon as Monday... Doctors added that Trump was on the second day of a planned five-day course of Remdesivir, an antiviral medicine, and is being treated with the powerful steroid dexamethasone amid indications that his lungs may have suffered some damage.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, Oct 4, 2020)

Steroids can be lifesaving for Covid-19 patients, scientists report: New data in hand, the WHO recommended that doctors give the drugs to critically ill patients worldwide

‘International clinical trials published on Wednesday confirm the hope that cheap, widely available steroid drugs can help seriously ill patients survive Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Based on the new evidence, the World Health Organization issued new treatment guidance, strongly recommending steroids to treat severely and critically ill patients, but not to those with mild disease...

‘JAMA published that paper and three related studies, along with an editorial describing the research as an “important step forward in the treatment of patients with Covid-19.” Corticosteroids should now be the first-line treatment for critically ill patients, the authors said. The only other drug shown to be effective in seriously ill patients, and only modestly at that, is remdesivir. Steroids like dexamethasone, hydrocortisone and methylprednisolone are often used by doctors to tamp down the body’s immune system, alleviating inflammation, swelling and pain. Many Covid-19 patients die not of the virus, but of the body’s overreaction to the infection.’

Read here (New York Times, Sept 2, 2020)

WHO ‘living guidance' on corticosteroids for Covid-19:

Download here (WHO)

Why steroids are a Covid-19 game changer

This video provides clear information on how Covid-19 affects our bodies adversely, e.g. via inflammation and over-reaction of the immune system (cytokine storm); why anti-viral remdesivir and drug hydroxychloroquine have been found to be relatively ineffective; and how a low-cost steroid dexamethasone produced quite dramatic positive results in severely affected patients. Although well-produced, this video is a means by the producers Real Science to advertise services like Nebula and CuriosityStream.

View here (Real Science, July 11, 2020)

Dexamethasone proves to be life-saving drug

‘A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus. The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus, UK experts say...

‘It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth. 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. And it could be of huge benefit in poorer countries with high numbers of Covid-19 patients.’

Read here (BBC, June 16, 2020)