DONALD Trump has returned to the White House after spending 72-hours in hospital with coronavirus symptoms.
The US president, 74, told the world "don't be afraid of coronavirus" and triumphantly admitted he felt "better than 20 years ago".
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
He was given unprecedented medical treatment at the Walter Reed hospital and checked out four days after testing positive for Covid-19.
In a video address to the nation, he told US citizens: "Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life."
He added: "We have developed, under the Trump administration, some really great drugs and knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!"
Trump was given nine different treatments during his short stay in the hospital's presidential suite.
Medics started him on a five-day course of remdesivir – a drug currently used for moderately and severely ill patients – on Friday.
He also received a single dose of an experimental drug REGN-COV2, which uses antibodies to help the immune system fight the virus.
Trump was also given the powerful steroid dexamethasone, which is normally reserved for seriously ill Covid-19 patients with breathing difficulties.
His doctor, navy commander Dr Sean Conley, said that he will continue to receive his treatments from the White House.
Here is the cocktail of nine different drugs which helped Trump battle Covid…
Dexamethasone
Dexamethasone was the first treatment shown to improve survival against Covid-19 — and was hailed the "biggest breakthrough yet".
The potentially life-saving drug costs as little as £5 – and is typically only given to patients with severe coronavirus.
It is a corticosteriod drug, typically used to treat rheumatic problems, several skin diseases and some respiratory infections like asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease.
Dexamethasone can also treat croup, which is a respiratory infection usually caused by a virus that often affects kids.
It was created in 1957, before being approved for medical use in 1961 – and is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.
Scientists at Oxford University said that dexamethasone can reduce the risk of dying by a third for the sickest of patients.
They claimed that if it had been available at the start of the pandemic, up to 5,000 British deaths could have been prevented.
During trials, the drug cut the risk of death by 35 per cent for patients on ventilators, and for those on oxygen support, it reduced mortality by 20 per cent.
Remdesivir
Remdesivir is a costly anti-viral drug used to treat more severe coronavirus cases.
The experimental antiviral drug, produced by the US pharmaceutical company Gilead, was initially intended as a potential treatment for Ebola.
But after being revived during the pandemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) dubbed it "the most promising" treatment for Covid-19 among all the other medicines being studied in trials.
It was the first coronavirus drug to be given the green light for use on the NHS back in May – with Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailing it the "biggest step forward" since the crisis began.
Trump also hailed it a "very promising" breakthrough after the FDA approved it for emergency use.
The drug is given through an IV and is designed to interfere with the virus’s ability to copy its genetic material.
It is administered via daily infusion for about ten days.
REGN-COV2
REGN-COV2 is an experimental "antibody" cocktail drug developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
It is a blend of two artificially made antibodies given in a single dose by drip or injection.
The drug was first tested on mice which were genetically modified to have a human immune system, before being tested on 275 people, of whom 40 per cent were classed as obese.
It works by binding to a protein on the surface of the virus, stopping it from attaching to cells and replicating, while allowing the immune system to attack the virus.
The drug does not yet have permission to be used outside clinical trials in the US.
However, Trump received an 8mg dose after a request on compassionate grounds by doctors.
British trials of REGN-COV2 started last weekend as part of Oxford University's national Recovery trial.
Vitamin D
Experts have been testing the effectiveness of Vitamin D – an over-the-counter aid to the immune system – since the outbreak of Covid-19.
Studies have found that patients with low levels of the vitamin are more likely to die after contracting the bug.
Vitamin D can cost as little as 6p per pill, but researchers from the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford say that it "found no clinical evidence on vitamin D in COVID-19."
Melatonin
Melatonin is a type of supplement which is used to help regulate sleep, and research suggests that it can help fight inflammation.
With Covid-19 patients, experts believe that an over-reactive immune response could be the trigger for a reaction outside of the lungs.
A doctor in Texas, US, claimed that he used melatonin to treat 400 Covid-19 patients, with few individuals developing severe enough cases to require hospital care.
However, there have been no official trials on Covid patients yet.
Oxygen
One of the main reasons Covid-19 patients need hospital care is for supplementary oxygen.
It is given via a plastic tube in the nose or a loose face mask.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson required oxygen treatment when he contracted coronavirus at the peak of UK's outbreak in April.
In an interview with The Sun after recovering, he explained: “There was one stage when they were giving me really quite a lot of oxygen.
“So they gave me a face mask and my intake became really quite substantial. I was going through litres and litres of oxygen for a long time."
Trump's doctors said his saturation levels twice dipped below 94 per cent on Friday and Saturday – the usual range is 95 to 100 per cent.
Zinc
Zinc is a mineral which can be used to boost anti-viral immunity and curb inflammation.
Previous studies have shown that it can have an effect on those with the common cold.
n three trials where people were given zinc acetate, or a placebo, the zinc acetate shortened the duration of a cold by 40 per cent.
Similarly, in four trials where people were given zinc gluconate, or a placebo, those taking the zinc gluconate found it reduced the duration of a cold by 28 per cent.
However, there's no evidence to suggest it can be used to treat Covid-19.
Famotidine
Famotidine is a popular heartburn remedy sold under the brand name Pepcid, which is available over-the-counter.
It helps to reduce stomach acid production by blocking histamine receptors in the stomach.
Researchers claim it can also block an enzyme needed for the replication of coronavirus.
The first signs that it could help to treat Covid-19 came from preliminary studies in China and a single hospital in New York suggesting that people in hospital with Covid-19 were less likely to die if they took famotidine.
A clinical trial is currently underway in the US.
Aspirin
Covid-19 can cause blood clotting in the blood vessels of the lungs in severe cases.
There are also anecdotal reports that inflammation caused by the virus, which makes blood more "stick", could increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Aspirin, another over-the-counter treatment, is proven to have anti-viral and bloodthinning effects so experts believe it could be used to treat coronavirus.
A study in a US hospital showed that people hospitalised with Covid-19 who received anticoagulant, or blood thinning, medication seemed to have better outcomes than those who didn’t.
Source: Read Full Article