Steroid's COVID-19 benefits confirmed; spotlight on immune cells

The full results of a large randomized clinical trial in Britain - the gold-standard of tests - looking at the steroid dexamethasone confirm the benefits in its use in COVID-19 patients that were hinted at in early findings issued last month. The results, released on Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed benefits for people with advanced or moderate disease. Overall, 2,104 COVID-19 patients were randomly assigned to receive dexamethasone and 4,321 to receive usual care. Four weeks later, dexamethasone had reduced the risk of death by 36% among patients who needed mechanical ventilation when they entered the study, and by 18% among those who were receiving oxygen without mechanical ventilation.