Dexamethasone cuts covid-19 deaths

health

New Delhi (Tisha Bhatia): A “groundbreaking” drug which reduces a person’s risk of death from the coronavirus has been given to patients on the NHS following successful British trials.

What is Dexamethasone?

Dexamethasone was developed in 1957 and was first approved for medical use by the Food and Drug Administration in the US in 1958.

It is a widely-used steroid drug which works to reduce inflammation and has been used to treat a number of different conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

Patients with a brain tumour may also be prescribed dexamethasone to reduce swelling around the tumour.

As India battles one of the deadliest pandemics in history, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the country’s top researchers and scientists are working on developing a vaccine to fight the deadly virus. Around seven independent groups have been identified to work on a prototype and several have also collaborated with foreign bodies to speed up work on a preventive vaccine candidate.

With over 177,000 patients enrolled, it is described as the largest randomised clinical trial anywhere in the world and will continue to trial other medicines, such as azithromycin and lopinavir-ritonavir.

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