Arthritis Drug May Improve COVID-19 Survival Among Older Patients

A study in Science Advances suggests an arthritis drug may lower the risk of dying for older patients with COVID-19, reports News-Medical . The study involved 83 COVID-infected patients, median age 81, who were given the rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib. Subjects had a 71 percent reduced risk of death versus those who had not taken the drug. Moreover, 17 percent of subjects given the drug died or needed to go on a ventilator, compared to 35 percent of controls who were not given the medication. "The study suggests this drug can aid recovery of patients with moderate to severe COVID-19, and may provide a new weapon in our arsenal against the virus," said Imperial College London Professor Justin Stebbing. "Large-scale clinical trials of this drug, to further investigate its potential, are now under way." The results indicated that baricitinib may reduce organ damage caused by inflammation, and block the virus' infiltration of human cells.