Dexamethasone might be a new weapon in our medical arsenal to fight COVID-19. English researchers have discovered the drug helps critically ill patients with COVID-19. Amazingly, it is affordable and widely available. Dexamethasone is not new in the medical world. Doctors have used this common steroid to treat inflammation. But now, the drug might rise to star status because a recent study proved it can cut down on the death toll on COVID-19 patients.
Special Help for the Critically Sick: Dexamethasone
Research in the United Kingdom Has Uncovered a New Weapon Against COVID-19: Dexamethasone
Let’s examine some details about this new dream drug.
- Dexamethasone cut deaths by up to one-third in a study of more than 6,000 severely ill COVID-19 patients.
- The British government has authorized doctors to prescribe it for some patients who are severely ill.
- However, we do not yet know for sure if dexamethasone can help patients with less severe cases of COVID-19.
- As of publishing this FLASS BLOG, scientists have not peer-reviewed Dexamethasone. And they have not replicated it’s benefit in other studies.
Applause for Current Results in Severely Cases of COVID-19
Dr. Anthony Fauci,is the United States’ top infectious disease expert. He quickly announced,“This is a significant improvement in the available therapeutic options that we have. ”
A Closer Look at Dexamethasone
Dr. Onyema Ogbuagu, an infectious disease doctor and associate professor of medicine at Yale, explained it this way. “Usually prescribed as an oral or intravenous steroid, dexamethasone is a general purpose anti-inflammatory and anti-swelling drug used for a variety of conditions.”Then, he added that Dexamethasone is unique, “in that it is a glucocorticoid.”
According to the Oxford Dictionary, this means it belongs in a category of steroids that are involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins,. Additionally, they have an anti-inflammatory activity. This class of drugs is not only effective at reducing inflammation. It can also suppress the immune system.
Let’s Examine How Glucocorticoids Like Dexamethasone Work For You
There is a cycle of inflammation that the coronavirus initiates:
1. Inflammation is the response of our immune to harmful substances and trauma and is part of our healing process. We call it part of the healing process.
2. However, “if the usual control mechanisms that turn the process of inflammation off aren’t functioning properly and it continues unabated, our tissues can become damaged.” That is exactly what happens with COVID-19 patients when they become severely ill. And typically it begins in the lungs.
3. The phenomenon of “continued inflammation” is associated with many chronic conditions, including diabetes, obesity, cancer, depression, ARDS, and heart disease.
A Natural Connection with Dexamethasone and Glucocorticoids
Big News From the UK: Oxford Study Shows Dexamethasone Can Reduce the Covid-19 Death Toll.
Our adrenal glands secret Glucocorticoids naturally by our adrenal gland in response to stress. Certainly, such hormones are essential to life and health. The class of Glucocorticoid drugs are synthetic versions of these hormones.
How is Do We Use Dexamethasone to treat COVID-19 patients?
Dr. Onyema Ogbuagu explained how this drug could help COVID-19 patients. He stated that “Generally, COVID-19 comes in two phases.
Phase 1: He stated, “People get the virus, it replicates, and that’s the first phase of the illness,” he said.
Phase 2: Then he added, “Afterward, around 10 days into the infection, people start to produce antibodies and inflammatory reactions to the virus.” Thus, the body’s own inflammatory chemicals sometimes create severe COVID-19 complications. This is when we see the patient contract acute respiratory distress syndrome. That means it is “difficult for oxygen to enter the bloodstream and reach organs.”
The Drug and The Data: A Study of Real Life Experiences
In the United Kingdom research, nick-named, “the Recovery Study,” the doctors noted that patients with severe COVID-19 complications saw significant benefits from the dexamethasone. They gave them the drug for 10 days, either orally or intravenously.
Much to their joy, they discovered that, after a month, the dexamethasone had benefited two groups.
1. It reduced deaths by 35% in patients who needed treatment with breathing machines.
2. Likewise it reduced deaths in the group which required supplemental oxygen.
3. However, oddly enough, It did not bring relief to the less ill patients. But as the old adage says, “Two out of three is a bad average!” Therefore, the doctors have deduced that dexamethasone is not a useful medication if the patient is only mildly stricken with COVID-19.
Dexamethasone Requires A Delicate Balance: All About Timing
Research Continues Around the Clock for New Drugs to Defeat the Coronavirus.
One of the factors, we at FLASS, wish to emphasize is that doctors will have to be very careful to properly use Dexamethaso. The reason has been described above: It inhibits the immune response to keep the body from attacking its own organs. But if the patient does not have a severe enough case, he might need that immune system to fight off the virus.
It is therefore important to stress that careful timing and selectiveness is critical for dexamethasone to have a beneficial effect against COVID-19. Early findings suggest COVID-19 patients who do not have severe symptoms, such as requiring a respirator, should not take dexamethazone. Likewise, “The World Health Organization and other organizations advise against using steroids earlier in the course of illness because they can impede clearing the virus.”
Downsides to Dexamethasone?
Of course every drug has side effects. “The downside of steroids is that it’s not selective.” Dr. Ogbuagu said. “It’s a double-edged sword that may hinder your body’s ability to fight the virus.” Ogbuagu also says, “Steroids, in general, may cause some severe side effects, such as new or worsening diabetes, as well as psychosis or emotional disturbance.”
However, for critical patients, it does begin to look like we can add Dexamethasone to Remdesevir for ammunition against severe cases of COVID-19. And we think that’s pretty good news.
Britain’s health ministry has approved the drug for state-run health service. Additionally, they have added export restrictions and stockpiled 200,000 courses of the treatment. So, obviously they are finding the results of the study very convincing. Martin Landray, an Oxford University professor co-leading the trial stated unequivocably, that the study “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.”
Happy Father’s Day! From Our Family to Yours–Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists (FLASS)
As we here at FLASS prepare to celebrate Father’s Day, we must note what a challenging time it has been for fathers in 2020. With quarantines, closed businesses and school closings, we think Dads and father figures have really become a special breed of heroes this year.
So, we, the doctors and staff of FLASS, are saluting you who are fathers at this special time. –And in fact our salute is not just for fathers.
Happy Dad’s Day to the Men Who Gave Us Their Guiding Light For Life.
In our Happy Father’s Day Tribute, we are including all father figures like grandfathers, uncles, cousins and brothers. —Even extra special friends. We think that they all deserve an extraordinary tribute of gratitude for all you do to fill our lives with light and guidance. Therefore, we dedicate this week to all the fathers out there, and especially our near and dear ones here in Florida. To celebrate Dads, we close this blog with an inspiring quotation by an unknown author: