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Scientists have found that a drug commonly used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD, if taken within seven days of the first symptoms of Covid-19, can reduce the risk of respiratory impairment, a breakthrough that could lead to to a new treatment strategy for the new coronavirus infection.
The study, published in the journal JAMA, noted that none of the 80 patients who took the antidepressant fluvoxamine met the criteria for respiratory impairment, compared with a rate of 8.3 percent in the 72 patients who took a dummy pill ( placebo).
“The results of the fluvoxamine trial are encouraging and warrant further evaluation in a larger study. Treatment is desperately needed that can prevent lung problems in people with mild symptoms of Covid-19, “said study co-author Carolyn Machamer of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the United States.
According to scientists, fluvoxamine, which is typically used to treat OCD patients, has strong anti-inflammatory properties.
They believe this ability could prevent cytokine storms, the body’s massive, sometimes fatal inflammatory reaction to coronavirus.
In the study, the 152 trial participants, all of whom were 18 years or older, were diagnosed with mild forms of Covid-19 and randomly assigned to take fluvoxamine or a placebo. The scientists said that none of the 80 participants who received the drug reached the end point of clinical deterioration, unlike six of the 72 people in the placebo group whose blood oxygen levels dropped significantly. Based on the results, the researchers said that fluvoxamine has the potential to reduce the risk of hospitalization in patients with Covid-19.
“We now have evidence that a cheap, safe, and readily available pill can reduce Covid-19 deterioration and hospitalization,” said Steve Kirsch, another co-author of the study.
