UVA researchers Dorian A. Recent clinical trials by Rosen and Alban Gaulieter have shown that antidepressants can prevent the worsening of COVID symptoms. Credit: Photos by Dan Edison, University of Virginia Communications
Antidepressant fluvoxamine appears to prevent COVID-19 The infection could worsen further and help keep patients out of the hospital, according to a trial based on research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
A clinical trial conducted by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis compares fluoxetine to placebo in 152 outpatient adults infected with the coronavirus. None of the participants receiving fluvoxamine saw a “clinical deterioration” after 15 days, while six patients receiving a placebo did so. Of those six, four were hospitalized, for a period of four to 21 days. One was on the ventilator for 10 days.
While the size of the study was small, the researchers say the results are statistically significant and fluvoxamine is more studied as a COVID-19 treatment. They plan to start a big hearing in the next few weeks.
Eric J., MD, University of Washington School of Medicine. “Patients who took fluvoxamine did not have severe breathing difficulties or need to be hospitalized for problems with lung function,” Lenz said. “Most of the tests for Kovid-1 for are intended to treat patients with dementia, but it is also important to find treatments that prevent patients from getting sick or need to go to the hospital for supplemental oxygen needs. Our study suggests that fluvoxamine may help fill that specificity. “
Fluoxetine and Covid-19
Researchers at the University of Washington have launched a randomized, double-blind trial based on the findings of Dorian A. Rosen, a former graduate student of Alban Goulier, PhD and PhD from UVA. Goultier and Rose discovered last year that fluvoxamine can stop a fatal inflammation known as sepsis, in which the immune response gets out of control. The drug they prescribed reduced the production of cytokines, associated with a potentially fatal “cytokine storm” that is thought to occur in severe cases of COVID-19.
The affiliation prompted a team from the University of Washington to investigate the possibility that fluvoxamine may have a protective effect on COVID-19 patients. Perhaps, they thought, this could help prevent the overexertion of the immune system, starting with the strange new coronavirus. And his work suggests that maybe.
“Because elevated cytokines levels are associated with the severity of Covid-19, testing fluvoxamine in clinical trials means we have a lot to gain,” said Goulitier, of UVA’s Department of Neuroscience and its Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG). “We are still unclear about the nature of the fluvaxamine action against him SARS-CoV-2Is, but research is underway to find the answer. “
The University of Washington team notes that recent research has raised questions about whether cytokines are indeed playing a significant role in the death of COVID-19. If not, the researchers say, fluoxetine may have beneficial effects through other methods that are not yet understood.
“The drug Covid-19 has many ways to help patients, but we think it could potentially interact with the Sigma-1 receptor to reduce the production of inflammatory molecules,” said Angela M. Reerson, MD, of the University of Washington. “Past research has shown that fluvoxamine can reduce inflammation in animal models of sepsis, and it can do something similar in our patients.”
The researchers insisted that there were many limitations to their research. In addition to its small size, the trial was interrupted by other factors, with 20% of participants refusing to respond to the survey during the 15-day trial. (Researchers have determined that none of these participants need to be hospitalized or visit the emergency department, but they could not deny that participants seek treatment elsewhere, such as emergency care clinics.)
Because of these limitations, the researchers say that the results of the trial should not be considered as a measure of the effectiveness of fluvoxamine against COVID-19, but rather an incentive indicator that the drug gives further testing.
“If a large clinical trial (Phase III) confirms the results, fluvoxamine will be a complete treatment for newly diagnosed covid patients.” “Fluvoxamine is not an experimental drug, it is cheap and safe and may be available as the first line of defense to protect hospitals overwhelmed by the Covid health crisis.”
Researchers have published their findings Journal of the American Medical Association. The team at The University of Washington includes Lenz, Kane Lin Matter, Charles F. Joramsky, Angela Stevens, Julie Schweiger, Ginger E. Nicole, J. Philip Miller, Lei Yang, Michael Yingling, Michael S. There were Aviden and Ryerson. The list of authors’ advertisements is included in the paper.
Reference: Eric J. “Fluoxetine vs. Placebo and Clinical Deterioration in Outpatients in Symptomatic CV Weed-19” by Lenze, MD; Kalin Mattar, MD; Charles F. Joramsky, MD; Angela Stevens, BA; Julie Sweiger; Ginger e. Nicole, MD; J. Philip Miller, Abbey; Lei Yang, MPH, MSIS; Michael Yingling, MS; Michael S. Avidan, MBBCH and Angela M. Rearson, MD, MPE, 12 November 2020, Journal of the American Medical Association.
D.O.I.
The clinical trial was supported by the Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Treatment for Innovative Psychiatric Treatment and COVID-19 Initial Treatment Fund. Additional support for mood disorders at Washington University was provided by the National Center for Brain Research Center, the Bailey Foundation and the health grant UL1TR1002345.
