COVID-19: Two Arthritis drugs reduce risk of death from virus, shows study

Scientists all over the world are striving hard to find drugs to tackle the deadly COVID-19 virus that has taken millions of lives in the past year. In a recent breakthrough, the Journal of the American Medical Association in a study published on Tuesday claimed that arthritis drugs ‘tocilizumab’ and ‘sarilumab’ used to treat rheumatoid arthritis are instrumental in reducing death risk among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The trials were conducted on nearly 11,000 COVID-19 patients which showed a dip in the need for ventilation support.

The study prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to recommend the use of IL-6 inhibitors along with corticosteroids on patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms. According to King’s College, London Professor and contributor to the journal, Manu Shankar-Hari, the research has represented a 'definitive piece of evidence' in favor of the drugs. He also added that the results were achieved after multiple trials, which produced mixed results earlier.

‘Better outcomes’

As per the report, the addition of one of the aforementioned corticosteroids and its infusion in critical COVID-19 patients displayed a massive reduction of death risks by 17%. Furthermore, a 21% less chance of ventilation requirement was observed among patients with severe symptoms.

Usually, COVID-19 patients experience severe damage to the immune system due to an overreaction known as a "cytokine storm" that causes organ damage and results in death. Once infused in the system, Tocilizumab and sarilumab inhibit the effects of interleukin (IL)-6, a type of protein called a cytokine, and enables the body to begin an inflammatory response. The drugs are given by infusion or injection. They are currently recommended for use along with corticosteroids on critical COVID-19 patients by Britain. The United States has also recommended tocilizumab along with corticosteroids.

‘More Covid-19 survivors’

According to reports published in the journal, the trials were conducted on 10,930 patients, of whom 6,449 were randomly chosen to receive IL-6 inhibitors and 4,481 to receive usual care, and the outcomes were studied for a period of 28 days. The use of the IL-6 inhibitors along with corticosteroids displayed a drop of 4% among patients who would have needed ventilators or breathing aids. Additionally, the risk was found to be 26 percent for those receiving IL-6 inhibitors as compared with a presumed 33 percent for those who were receiving usual care. The study concluded that the results mean that for every 100 such patients, four more will survive.