What is dexamethasone? A drug that boosts Covid-19 survival chance

Low-cost, widely-used steroid dexamethasone is first to show life-saving promise

A cheap and widely used steroid called dexamethasone has become the first drug shown to be able to save lives among Covid-19 patients in what scientists said is a “major breakthrough” in the coronavirus pandemic. Trial results announced on Tuesday showed dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in other diseases such as arthritis, reduced death rates by around a third among the most severely ill of Covid-19 patients admitted to hospital.

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The preliminary results suggest the drug should immediately become standard care in patients with severe cases of the pandemic disease, said the researchers who led the trials. The researchers said they would work to publish the full details of the trial as soon as possible, with some scientists saying they wished to review the evidence for themselves. Britain’s health ministry wasted no time in acting on the findings, saying the drug had been approved for use in the state-run health service, export restrictions had been introduced, and Britain had stockpiled 200,000 courses of the treatment.

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Britain’s health ministry wasted no time in acting on the findings, saying the drug had been approved for use in the state-run health service, export restrictions had been introduced, and Britain had stockpiled 200,000 courses of the treatment…

Covid-19 crisis: Green shoots visible in the economy, PM Modi tells CMs

In a similar forum on Wednesday, he will meet CMs of some of the worst-hit states including Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh

On a day when India’s Covid-19 tally crossed 340,000 and the death toll hovered at around 10,000, Prime Minister Narendra Modi complimented the country for its recovery rate at over 50 per cent. Almost two weeks after the nationwide lockdown was relaxed, the PM in a virtual interaction with chief ministers of some 21 states and Union Territories said on Tuesday that green shoots of economic growth had started showing. In a similar forum on Wednesday, he will meet CMs of some of the worst-hit states including Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.

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While warning against complacency, he said timely action had prevented a potential catastrophe but India was recovering rapidly. In his meeting with the CMs Punjab, Kerala, Goa, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, the Northeastern states and some UTs, the PM said the economy was fast reaching the levels where it was before the pandemic had hit India while referring to cooperative federalism in dealing with the Covid crisis.

Almost all offices (public and private) were open, people were returning to work and the streets were busy with commuters, he pointed out. In a reminder of what it took to save a large part of the population from the infection, the PM told the chief ministers that discipline of washing hands frequently and using masks needed to continue…Read More

What is Arthritis - Symptoms, Causes, Prevention and Care?

Arthritis affects joints and muscles. The word arthritis is derived from two Greek works 'arthron' which means joint and 'itis' which means inflammation.

Health news: Arthritis affects joints and muscles. The word arthritis is derived from two Greek works 'arthron' which means joint and 'itis' which means inflammation. The disease takes heavy toll on the quality of life of the affected person. There are more than a 100 conditions of joints and muscles that can be classified as arthritis. The disease is quite common with some estimations claiming that 1 out of 4 people get affected by the same. Although the condition is more prevalent in older people but it can also affect young adults and children too. Arthritis causes pain in joints and surrounding tissues, this in turn hampers mobility and in fact the person’s ability to accomplish day to day tasks.

What is Arthritis?

Arthritis is mostly inflammation of joints, joint pain, swelling and stiffness. There are various types of arthritis, some common types being rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's disease, pseudo-gout, gout, systemic lupus erythematosus, fibromyalgia and more. The two most common types of arthritis are Rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is believed to be chronic in nature, it happens when the natural defence mechanism of the body goes haywire and starts attacking the body itself leading to joint destruction. Osteoarthritis on the other hand is caused due to wear and tear, thus the condition is also known as degenerative osteoarthritis.

Arthritis Symptoms and Causes

It is very important that diagnosis happens as early as possible in case of arthritis. Ignoring the disease can result in irreparable damage to the joint and hamper even basic mobility in the long run. Early symptoms of arthritis can be weakness, fatigue and pain which generally start from hands and knuckles. Later the symptoms can grow in to persistent joint pains, fever, weight-loss, redness, swelling and stiffness of the joints and more. Arthritis is diagnosed mostly through blood test and magnesium deficiency assessment. The exact cause of some types of arthritis such as Rheumatoid arthritis is still unknown but researchers believe that mostly genetics is the cause of the said disease....read more