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Trump has been treated at Walter Reed Military Hospital in northern Washington since Friday, we reported. Efficacy against the virus has not yet been demonstrated with certainty for most agents. What about the preparations?
Remdesivir: The drug originally developed to treat Ebola is the only one for the specific treatment of Covid-19 that is subject to approval in the EU. It inhibits an enzyme in viruses that is necessary for them to multiply. An international study with more than 1,000 participants showed in early May that Remdesivir can reduce recovery time in Covid-19 patients by an average of four days, from 15 to 11 days. Then, in July, the manufacturer, US drugmaker Gilead Sciences, reported that it could also reduce mortality. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommends the medicine for patients 12 years of age and older who have pneumonia and need extra oxygen. Many experts emphasized that the remedy is a first step, but not a panacea. The EMA is currently investigating whether remdesivir is causing kidney complications. A safety testing procedure was reportedly started for the Veklury drug, the authority announced on Friday.
Antibody cocktail: On Friday, according to his personal physician, Donald Trump received a dose of an experimental antibody cocktail that the biotech company Regeneron is currently investigating in clinical studies. Earlier in the week, the company presented the first results in a press release, the data has not yet been independently evaluated. 275 patients who were not treated in the hospital were reported to have received a mixture of two antibodies in different doses or a dummy drug. Antibodies are directed against two regions of the spike protein on the surface of the Sars-CoV-2 virus.
According to the company, the treatment caused a reduction in viral load, that is, the amount of detectable virus, and a faster resolution of symptoms. Test people whose immune systems had not yet produced their own antibodies to the virus benefited the most. Instead of 13 days in the placebo group, it only took six (lower dose) or eight (higher dose) days before symptoms subsided or disappeared completely. The average age of the subjects was 44, making them significantly younger than the 74-year-old president of the United States.
Famotidine: Famotidine is an acid blocker that is used to treat stomach acid-related conditions. At the beginning of the pandemic, scientists in China found evidence that people taking the drug have a low risk of dying from Covid-19. Currently, the efficacy is being tested in several clinical studies. American researchers recently presented the results of a small study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. Consequently, the agent reduced, among other things, mortality.
According to his doctor, the President of the United States also takes zinc, vitamin D, aspirin, and the sleep hormone melatonin. Vitamins and minerals are generally said to strengthen the immune system. Efficacy with Covid-19 has not been proven with certainty.
