© 2020 PFPC
COVID-19
Recently, dexamethasone, a fluorinated steroid about 30 times more as active as cortisione, was approved for treatment in COVID-19. Considering what is known about the pathophysiology of COVID-19, this could turn out to be disastrous decision, if not applied appropriately.
"Recent announcements indicated, without sharing any distinct published set of results, that the corticosteroid dexamethasone may reduce mortality of severe COVID-19 patients only...Dexamethasone would limit the production of and damaging effect of the cytokines, but will also inhibit the protective function of T cells and block B cells from making antibodies, potentially leading to increased plasma viral load that will persist after a patient survives SARS. Moreover, dexamethasone would block macrophages from clearing secondary, nosocomial, infections. Hence, dexamethasone may be useful for the short-term in severe, intubated, COVID-19 patients, but could be outright dangerous during recovery since the virus will not only persist, but the body will be prevented from generating protective antibodies."
(Theoharides & Conti, 2020)
Theoharides TC, Conti P - "Dexamethasone for COVID-19? Not so fast" J Biol Regul Homeost Agents 34(3) (2020) doi: 10.23812/20-EDITORIAL_1-5. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32551464
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32551464/
Selvaraj V, Dapaah-Afriyie K, Finn A, Flanigan TP - "Short-Term Dexamethasone in Sars-CoV-2 Patients" R I Med J (2013) 103(6):39-43 (2020) PMID: 32570995.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32570995/
Fluoride
Dexamethasone enhances fluoride effects on bone (Takada et al, 1996).
Takada J, Chevalley T, Baylink DJ, Lau KH. - "Dexamethasone enhances the osteogenic effects of fluoride in human TE85 osteosarcoma cells in vitro" Calcif Tissue Int. 1996 May;58(5):355-61. doi: 10.1007/BF02509385. PMID: 8661971.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8661971/
Inkielewicz-Stepniak I, Radomski MW, Wozniak M - "Fisetin prevents fluoride- and dexamethasone-induced oxidative damage in osteoblast and hippocampal cells" Food Chem Toxicol 50(3-4):583-9 (2012) doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2011.12.015. Epub 2011 Dec 17. PMID: 22198064.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22198064/
(Dexamethasone contains 4.84% fluorine per molecule).
Gq/11
Dexamethasone increases G q/11 expression (Cheung et al, 2002; Mitchell et al, 1997).
Cheung R, Mitchell J - “Mechanisms of regulation of G(11)alpha protein by dexamethasone in osteoblastic UMR 106-01 cells” Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 282(1):E24-30 (2002)
Mitchell J, Bansal A - "Dexamethasone increases G alpha q-11 expression and hormone-stimulated phospholipase C activity in UMR-106-01 cells" Am J Physiol 273(3 Pt 1):E528-35 (1997)
Wie J, Kim J, Ha K, Zhang YH, Jeon JH, So I - " Dexamethasone activates transient receptor potential canonical 4 (TRPC4) channels via Rasd1 small GTPase pathway" Pflugers Arch 467(10):2081-91. (2015) doi: 10.1007/s00424-014-1666-0. Epub 2014 Dec 14. PMID: 25502319
https://link.springer.com/article/10.10 ... 014-1666-0
Thyroid
Maes M, Vandewoude M, Schotte C, Martin M, Blockx P - "Suppressive effects of dexamethasone on hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis function in depressed patients" J Affect Disord 20(1):55-61 (1990)