Arthritis Medicine Used As A Potential COVID-19 Treatment

At the moment, there is currently no known cure for the COVID-19 virus. However, what’s interesting is that while there is no cure, what doctors and researchers have been discovering is that medicines used to treat other illnesses seem to be working against the COVID-19 virus, at least in some cases.

The latest discovery comes in the form of a case involving Dr. Ryan Padgett from the EvergreenHealth Medical Center in Seattle, where he himself eventually contracted the virus in which he started to experiencing critical symptoms, such as lungs and kidneys failing. His colleagues had initially given him a day or so to live, but they decided to try out an experimental treatment that had been previously tested in China.

This involved the use of Actemra, a drug that is normally used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. However, in the past, it has been shown that this particular drug can also be used to treat the cytokine storm phenomenon where the body’s immune system becomes too strong and actually turns against the host’s body itself, doing more harm than good.

Padgett was initially placed on a life support and an ECMO machine, but days following the treatment using Actemra, he started to show signs of recovery and was later taken off life support and had his breathing tube removed. He also later came out of his sedated coma.

That being said, it should be noted that this is merely anecdotal evidence, meaning that save for several reports and instances, it does not mean that Actemra can cure the COVID-19 virus, but rather it seems to have the potential to help patients who are in the critical stages. More study and research definitely needs to be done, but this is not the first time we’re hearing such reports.

Previously, it was reported that a drug typically used to treat erectile dysfunction was also found to have helped COVID-19 patients in the critical stages.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Medical
Tags: Coronavirus, covid-19, Health, Social Hit