Use of antidepressants could reduce risk of death from COVID

A common antidepressant appears to reduce the risk of death in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

About 9.8% of the 470 COVID-19 patients who participated in the study who were taking fluoxetine, also marketed under the brand name Prozac, they passed away. That compares with more than 13% of patients with similar characteristics not receiving any antidepressants.

A recent trial conducted in Brazil showed that fluvoxamina, another antidepressant, can reduce the risk of a COVID-19 patient ending up in the hospital.

The antidepressant was chosen to be studied as a potential treatment for COVID-19 due to its anti-inflammatory properties. It is also cheaper than Merck & Co.’s new antiviral to treat the virus.

“Although more studies are needed, this raises the possibility of reusing these antidepressants as treatments for COVID-19“, said Allan Young, director of the Center for Affective Disorders at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, who reviewed the study.

The fluoxetine and the fluvoxamina They have been used safely for almost 30 years as treatments for mental health conditions such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorders. They are part of the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which relieve symptoms by increasing serotonin levels in the brain.

Another reviewer of the study said the study is observational and too small to provide evidence of cause and effect. Other limitations include the fact that records on prior health conditions were not available to all patients, said Kevin McConway, emeritus professor of applied statistics at The Open University.