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Another corona drug pops up: Dexamethasone
The good old anti-inflammatory arthritic drug threatens to edge out Remdesivir and Trump-favourite hydroxychloroquine from the corona shelves. The Oxford University researchers found that it reduces mortality by one-third in critical coronavirus cases. The WHO described the finding as the "green shoots of hope." But how far is it true?

LONDON, June 17: British Health Minister Matt Hancock told Parliament on Wednesday that Oxford researchers had found dexamethasone useful in the treatment of critically ill covid patients. Dexamethasone is the first effective medicine found for the treatment of coronavirus, he claimed.

"It's the first time that anyone in the world has clinically proven that a drug can improve the survival chances of the most seriously ill coronavirus patients," Hancock explained.

The Oxford University researchers had announced on Tuesday that the first results of the trial found that the drug reduces mortality by one- third in critical coronavirus cases. The treatment is immediately available and is already in use in NHS (National Health Service), according to Hancock. The UK has 2,40,000 doses of dexamethasone in stocks.

It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth. Chief Medical Officer for England Prof Chris Whitty tweeted it would save lives around the world.

The risk of death was reduced from 40% to 28% in patients on ventilators and 25% to 20% in those on oxyden. About 2,000 hospital patients were given the trial medicine by the Oxford researchers. Their head Prof Martin Landray said the benefit is clear.

"This is the most important trial result for COVID-19 so far. Significiant reduction in mortality in those requiring oxygen or ventilation from a widely available, safe and well-known drug. Many thanks to those who took part and made it happen. It will save lives around the world," Prof Chris Whitty said.

The drug, used as anti-inflammatory in arthritis and asthma, is instantly available worldwide and is cheap and well-known. It is a common steriod used since 1960. It is administered intravenously in intensive care and in tablet form for less seriously ill patients. For a 10-day course it costs 5 pounds in the UK.

In fact it works like a drug against cytokine storm, which manifests in coronavirus patients in advanced stage, helping in recovery: Reason why it has been described as a life-saver in ventilator cases only. (Does it mean the drug is for cytokine storm and not for coronavirus as such?)

Cytokine storm is that state when the body's immune system goes into an overdrive to destroy foreign bodies or responds violently to mistaken signals, leading to damages like bleeding, clotting, strokes and abrasions to own organs. Here the lungs. Bleeding lungs then stop oxygen supplies and brings death. The drug's intervention is here, treating the cytokine storm.

Dexamethasone calms the immune system.

The only other drugs being tried for covid are comparatively new. Remdesivir developed for SARS and hydroxychloroquine which is a malaria drug also useful in arthritis and IBS. Both were included in the therapy protocol for coronavirus patients in India last week. Hydroxychloroquine, which has been promoted by US President Trump from the very beginning and has now been disapproved by the FDA, was a couple of days ago stopped by the WHO also from trial and use.

An optimistic Prime Minister Boris Johnson said dexamethasone is "a remarkable British scientific achievement" that can be celebrated. "We have taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies, even in the event of a second peak," he said.

The WHO has hailed the trial of the repurposed drug. Dexamethasone has "given signs of hope." However, intensive work should go on on the preventive side although the new drug is a "very welcome news" and it gives "green shoots of hope," the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. It is a cheap and common steriod that can definitely help the critically ill. The medicine has been used since 1960 to reduce inflammation in arthritis and asthma and in some skin conditions. It cuts death rate by one-third, he elaborated.

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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.

The irony lies in her illustration of her experiences in the country she has been living in for the last four years. What it really is!

ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!

The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.

Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.

  • The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
  • The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
  • The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)

A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924) (Today's headlines )

Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”

Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.

PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.

Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people. (Today's headlines )

"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...

Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.

Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.

As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.

The committee headed by justice Kurian Joseph will study Centre-State relations and make proposals to ensure foolproof separation of powers.

"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.

Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.

ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!

What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America! (Today's headlines )

PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).

In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.

THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.

The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.

Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See: New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)

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