Skip to main content

Drug lowers risk of death in elderly COVID-19 patients: study

COVID-19 drug itolizumab

An antibody drug already being used against the coronavirus in Cuba decreased the risk of intensive care admission and death among nursing home residents with moderate COVID-19, according to a small study conducted in the island nation.

India’s Biocon said earlier this month it received regulatory approval in India for itolizumab for use in coronavirus infected patients with moderate-to-severe respiratory distress. It was originally tested as a treatment for psoriasis.

Researchers, including from Cuba’s Center of Molecular Immunology, which developed itolizumab, said timely use of the drug in combination with standard therapy helped reduce inflammation and prevented COVID-19 from worsening.

The 19 hospitalized patients from a single nursing home had tested positive for the virus in April.

All were older than age 64 and had chronic health conditions such as hypertension, dementia, heart disease, diabetes and lung diseases. Their age and health issues are considered risk factors for severe COVID-19.

The patients received either one or two intravenous doses of itolizumab along with the standard treatments used in Cuba at the time. Those included antiviral drugs, antibiotics, chloroquine, interferon, and blood thinners.

Only two patients required oxygen therapy after the first dose, and all but one were discharged from the hospital in 14 days.

When researchers compared their outcomes to similar elderly COVID-19 patients who received standard treatment without itolizumab, they estimated that treating three such patients with the drug could prevent one ICU admission and one death.

The study also found that in four out of five patients who received itolizumab, blood levels of proteins that can cause life-threatening inflammation were significantly reduced within 24 to 48 hours.

The study, which did not compare itolizumab with a placebo or other treatments has not yet been peer-reviewed.

While larger, formal trials are needed to prove the drug will benefit hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the researchers said the results suggest it may be helpful.

The post Drug lowers risk of death in elderly COVID-19 patients: study appeared first on ARY NEWS.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

K-Electric fined Rs2 mn over weak power supply system

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs2 million on the K-Electric. According to a statement issued by the power regulatory authority, the K-Electric was penalized over non-compliance of performance standards, particularly its failure to restore power supply within the prescribed time frame and to ensure the safety of public in Karachi. Quoting media reports, it said large swathes of Karachi remained without electricity due to the tripping of almost 700 feeders during rainy weather in June last year, which resulted in long power blackouts ranging from 24 hours to 48 hours in almost 50% areas of Karachi. Further, there were also reports of fatal injuries to some people owing to electrocution. The Nepra took notice of the situation in Karachi and directed the K-Electric to immediately provide a detailed report on the tripping of feeders and electrocution incidents along with preventive and corrective steps taken by K-Elec...

10 creepy celebrity wax statues

Waxworks of celebrities, sports persons and politicians such as Tom Cruise, Barack Obama and Christiano Ronaldo are admired by people all over the world. The craft requires taking careful and accurate measurements to create these wax statues, which are then polished and perfected to make for an exact replica. Madame Tussaud’s is one of the most famous museums in the world that displays wax statues, however, not all wax museums in the world craft flawless statues. Compiled from Cosmopolitan India , here is a list of the creepiest celebrity wax statues. Barack Obama PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN David and Victoria Beckham PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Jennifer Aniston PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Beyonce’s wax statue sparks outrage Jennifer Lopez PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Justin Bieber PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Justin Timberlake PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Aamir Khan PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN Katrina Kaif PHOTO: COSMOPOLITAN London’s Tussauds gets to work on Trump wax figure Selena Gomez PHOTO: C...

Accountability court hears assets case against Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday resumed the hearing of a reference filed against former finance minister Ishaq Dar by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for allegedly accumulating assets beyond his known sources of income.  Judge Muhammad Bashir is recording the statement of a prosecution witness, Ishtiaq Ahmed. At the previous hearing, the accountability judge had reserved his verdict on an application filed by two co-accused seeking acquittal in the case. Naeem Mehmood and Mansoor Rizvi, who are directors of Dar’s companies, had filed the application requesting the judge to exonerate them from all charges for want of evidence. Qazi Misbah, the counsel for the two co-accused, contended the prosecution has failed to provide compelling evidence to prove the allegations leveled against his clients. The third co-accused President National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Saeed Ahmed, had already filed an application before the court for his acquittal wh...