Cheap Anti-Depressant 'Promising' Against Severe COVID-19

ONTARIO:  Researchers at the McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, studied Fluvoxamine, a cheap anti-depressant used for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and saw that it significantly reduced the hospitalization rate among adults with high-risk COVID-19 infections.

They were looking into existing drugs that could be repurposed to treat coronavirus. They tested Fluvoxamine because of its anti-inflammatory properties and potential shown in similar studies.

Out of 1,500 COVID-19 patients at risk of severe illness, about 50 per cent took the anti-depressant at home for ten days, while the rest were given a placebo. Four weeks of monitoring showed that in the group that utilized the anti-depressant, 11 per cent required hospitalization, in contrast to the 16 per cent of placebo.

The results were promising, to the point where experts observing the study suggested ending it early as the results were apparent.

“If WHO endorses this, you will see it being administered all over,” said Dr Edward Mills, the study’s co-author, adding that lower-income nations already have the drug stocked in their arsenal.

“We hope it will help save many people.” he anticipated.

Reference: ‘Effect of early treatment with fluvoxamine on risk of emergency care and hospitalisation among patients with COVID-19: the TOGETHER randomised, platform clinical trial’ by Gilmar Reis. Published in The Lancet Global Health journal.

DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00448-4