In 'Major Breakthrough,' Oxford Researchers Say Cheap, Available Steroid Can Save Lives From Coronavirus

For the first time, scientists have found evidence that a drug can significantly help save the lives of people severely ill with COVID-19, and it's a medicine that is both cheap and widely available.
Researchers at the University of Oxford found that the steroid dexamethasone reduced the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators and a fifth for patients on oxygen, BBC News reported. If the drug had been used in the UK from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the researchers said, as many as 5,000 lives could have been saved.
"This is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality — and it reduces it significantly," chief investigator professor Peter Horby told BBC News. "It's a major breakthrough."
Oxford study shows low-cost COVID-19 drug improves survival rate in hospitalised patients with severe respiratory c… https://t.co/CynmLY1KYp— University of Oxford (@University of Oxford)1592323420.0
The finding is part of a broader RECOVERY clinical trial that has been testing potential coronavirus treatments since March, funding body the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) explained. In the case of dexamethasone, 2,104 patients were randomly assigned to take the steroid once a day for 10 days and their outcomes were compared with another randomly-assigned control group of 4,321 patients who received standard care. The researchers stopped the trial early because it was working so well, The New York Times reported.
The NIHR-supported RECOVERY trial has shown that dexamethasone, a steroid, significantly reduces the risk of dying… https://t.co/ZzDyPSXnqQ— NIHR Research (@NIHR Research)1592312116.0
The drug has been used for more than 50 years to treat inflammatory conditions like arthritis and asthma. In the case of coronavirus, it helps prevent tissue damage caused when the immune system overreacts to the virus in a potentially deadly phenomenon known as a cytokine storm.
"What this is effectively doing is tamping down inflammatory responses in patients," Stuart Neil, a professor of virology at King's College London, told The New York Times. "It's almost certain this is affecting the body's response against the virus, rather than inhibiting the virus itself."
The steroid did not help patients who did not require oxygen and was not tested on people managing their coronavirus symptoms at home, NIHR pointed out.
Lead researcher professor Martin Landray told BBC News that patients should not buy the drug to take at home, but that hospitals should administer it when appropriate. Indeed, doctors in the UK have been authorized to do so starting Tuesday, according to The New York Times.
"The treatment is up to 10 days of dexamethasone and it costs about £5 per patient," Landray told BBC News. "So essentially it costs £35 to save a life."
But the findings have not yet been peer reviewed, leading to skepticism on the part of some U.S. doctors, Reuters reported. In the race to find a cure for the new disease, treatments have been touted then abandoned and studies have been published and then retracted, The New York Times pointed out. On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration withdrew its emergency authorization for the use of anti-malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine against the coronavirus. And respected journal The Lancet retracted a coronavirus study this month because of data problems.
"It will be great news if dexamethasone, a cheap steroid, really does cut deaths by 1/3 in ventilated patients with COVID19, but after all the retractions and walk backs, it is unacceptable to tout study results by press release without releasing the paper," writer and surgeon Atul Gawande tweeted.
It will be great news if dexamethasone, a cheap steroid, really does cut deaths by 1/3 in ventilated patients with… https://t.co/QxOprrkpDt— Atul Gawande (@Atul Gawande)1592313264.0
South Korea's top health official urged caution in prescribing dexamethasone because of potential side effects, and several U.S. doctors said they would wait for a peer-reviewed article to make their final judgment, according to Reuters.
"We have been burned before, not just during the coronavirus pandemic but even pre-COVID, with exciting results that when we have access to the data are not as convincing," Dr. Kathryn Hibbert, who directs the medical intensive care unit at Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital, told Reuters.
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Accusing California regulators of "reckless disregard" for public "health and safety," the environmental advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity on Wednesday sued the administration of Gov. Gavin Newsom for approving thousands of oil and gas drilling and fracking projects without the required environmental review.
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By Kate Whiting
From Greta Thunberg to Sir David Attenborough, the headline-grabbing climate change activists and environmentalists of today are predominantly white. But like many areas of society, those whose voices are heard most often are not necessarily representative of the whole.
1. Wangari Maathai
<p>In 2004, Professor Maathai made history as the <a href="https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/Prize-winners/Prizewinner-documentation/Wangari-Maathai" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize</a> for her dedication to sustainable development, democracy and peace. She started the <a href="http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Green Belt Movement</a>, a community-based tree planting initiative that aims to reduce poverty and encourage conservation, in 1977. More than 51 million trees have been planted helping build climate resilience and empower communities, especially women and girls. Her environmental work is celebrated every year on <a href="http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/node/955" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wangari Maathai Day on 3 March</a>.</p>2. Robert Bullard
<p>Known as the 'father of environmental justice,' Dr Bullard has <a href="https://www.unep.org/championsofearth/laureates/2020/robert-bullard" target="_blank">campaigned against harmful waste</a> being dumped in predominantly Black neighborhoods in the southern states of the U.S. since the 1970s. His first book, Dumping in Dixie, highlighted the link between systemic racism and environmental oppression, showing how the descendants of slaves were exposed to higher-than-average levels of pollutants. In 1994, his work led to the signing of the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/albert-huang/20th-anniversary-president-clintons-executive-order-12898-environmental-justice" target="_blank">Executive Order on Environmental Justice</a>, which the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/" target="_blank">Biden administration is building on</a>.<br></p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7983f54726debdd824f97f9ad3bdbb87"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T_VjSGk8s18?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
Pollution has a race problem. Elizabethwarren.com
3. John Francis
<p>Helping the clean-up operation after an oil spill in San Francisco Bay in January 1971 inspired Francis to <a href="https://planetwalk.org/about-john/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stop taking motorized transport</a>. Instead, for 22 years, he walked everywhere. He also took a vow of silence that lasted 17 years, so he could listen to others. He has walked the width of the U.S. and sailed and walked through South America, earning the nickname "Planetwalker," and raising awareness of how interconnected people are with the environment.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="09b968e0e9964e31406954dcea45981d"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vgQjL23_FoU?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
4. Dr. Warren Washington
<p>A meteorology and climate pioneer, Dr. Washington was one of the first people to develop atmospheric computer models in the 1960s, which have helped scientists understand climate change. These models now also incorporate the oceans and sea ice, surface water and vegetation. In 2007, the <a href="https://www.cgd.ucar.edu/pcm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Parallel Climate Model (PCM)</a> and <a href="https://www.cesm.ucar.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Community Earth System Model (CESM)</a>, earned Dr. Washington and his colleagues the <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2007/summary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nobel Peace Prize</a>, as part of the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="09fbf6dc37f275f438a0d53ec0fe1874"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bvJ4jTy2mTk?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
5. Angelou Ezeilo
<p>Huge trees and hikes to pick berries during her childhood in upstate New York inspired Ezeilo to become an environmentalist and set up the <a href="https://gyfoundation.org/staff/Angelou-Ezeilo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Greening Youth Foundation</a>, to educate future generations about the importance of preservation. Through its schools program and Youth Conservation Corps, the social enterprise provides access to nature to disadvantaged children and young people in the U.S. and West Africa. In 2019, Ezeilo published her book <em>Engage, Connect, Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders</em>, co-written by her Pulitzer Prize-winning brother Nick Chiles.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ce4547d4e5c0b9ad2927f19fd75bf4ab"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YojKMfUvJMs?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
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