Common Low-Cost Antidepressant Reduces COVID-19 Hospitalization Risk, Study Shows

An inexpensive antidepressant used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, also helps lower the likelihood of high-risk COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization or prolonged medical observation, a large clinical trial published in The Lancet suggests.

 

The drug, fluvoxamine, has been prescribed to treat OCD for nearly 30 years, but researchers began looking into it more carefully at the onset of the pandemic, based on its ability to reduce inflammation, with hopes it could subdue the body’s intense response to the infection.

The results of the study, which were published Wednesday by a group of researchers in Canada, the US, and Brazil, could mean a new set of guidelines for use of the drug both in the US and abroad. And at only about $US4 ($AU5) for a 10-day course, the drug could be a particularly helpful remedy in less wealthy countries.

Dr. David Boulware, an infectious disease scientist at the University of Minnesota, told The New York Times fluvoxamine is “not a shiny new, expensive drug.”

“The nice thing about this is it has a known safety profile,” he told the outlet.

The study, which was published in The Lancet Global Health, followed nearly 1,500 COVID patients in Brazil who were given either fluvoxamine or a placebo. Researchers found that the drug reduced hospitalization or longterm medical observation rates by one-third.

 

Outside scientists noted that questions remain regarding the correct dosage, as some patients reportedly had difficulties tolerating the drug and ceased taking it, The Times reported.

But among patients who finished their regiment, the drug reduced the need for hospitalization at an even more significant rate: by two-thirds. The drug also cut the odds of COVID-related death.

Of the participants, 12 who were given a placebo died, while just one taking fluvoxamine did.

It is still unclear how the drug might work among those who are vaccinated, as the majority of study patients were unvaccinated. And running large COVID trials has proven difficult, particularly in the US, where most high-risk patients have already received the vaccine and the remaining unvaccinated could be less enthusiastic to join a study, The Times reported.

But because fluvoxamine is already on the market, doctors can prescribe the drug “off label” for COVID-19, according to the outlet, though it has yet to develop the cult following that other, less-researched drugs like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin garnered.

This article was originally published by Business Insider.

More from Business Insider:

 

Source link

The post Common Low-Cost Antidepressant Reduces COVID-19 Hospitalization Risk, Study Shows appeared first on Chop News.



from Chop News https://ift.tt/3Br7hyq

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where To Find Undetected Black Ops Cold War Hacks? | RVCJS

Image
Black Ops Cold War hacks are highly popular and there’s absolutely no question about it. If you regularly play the game on PC, there’s no doubt you haven’t encountered at least a few players that have used said Cold War hacks. You’ve probably thought about using them too at least once or twice, but haven’t done so because of a fear of getting banned. Luckily, there’s now a great solution for that which we’ll be discussing more about today. This solution is undetected Cold War hacks.  The Key Points to Keep in Mind Hacks for Cold War are very popular, but it’s very risky to use them.  Once you get banned, there’s no chance of recovering your account, which is why undetected hacks are a necessity.  Not all ‘’undetected’’ are truly undetected. You have to clearly decide which of them you choose.  Battlelog.co is the most trustable cheat provider of all in this department, as they offer truly amazing undetected Black Ops Cold War hacks .    Ho...
Read more

How to Manage Your Spinal Cord Injury in Arizona

Image
How to Manage Your Spinal Cord Injury in Arizona:  Arizona is a prosperous state in the United States, with a population of more than seven million people in 2019. It has a robust economy with an unemployment rate of 5.1% during the year. The state also posted a 2.7% job growth in 2018-2019, mainly driven by its healthcare industry. One of the growing segments in the state’s healthcare sector is medical cannabis. Experts recommend it to treat ailments like chronic pain and spinal cord injuries (SCI). However, you need to have a medical marijuana card in Arizona to buy medical cannabis legally. How to Manage Your Spinal Cord Injury in Arizona When to Seek Medical Help for Your SCI The National Spinal Cord Injury Association claimed an estimated 450,000 Americans are living with SCI. Also, there are around 17,000 new SCI cases in the U.S. every year. If you are an SCI sufferer, you should go to the hospital immediately if you experience one or more of the following symptoms af...
Read more

Jaydev Compares Cutting Beans With Pujara’s Ranji Final Innings, Gets A Hilarious Reply From Him | RVCJS

Image
The Indian cricketers are presently sitting inside their houses as the coronavirus outbreak has compelled each one of us to remain indoors to save ourselves from getting infected. While some players are getting active on social media networks and interacting with their fans or colleagues, several others are letting their fans know how they are spending time in the 21 days lockdown period. Indian cricketer Jaydev Unadkat under whose captaincy the Saurashtra team won the Ranji Trophy recently took to the micro-blogging site Twitter and posted a photo in which he showed the vegetables that he chopped. He also wrote heartwarming message for his mother as she has done such things infinite times but never showed off. Jaydev Unadkat’s tweet read, “By, Yours truly.. To, The Mother.. (who does it infinite times without any such show-off & appreciation)  #QuarantineLife” By, Yours truly.. To, The Mother.. (who does it infinite times without any such show-off & appreciation) #Q...
Read more