In many cases, infection passes with Covid-19-mild: Although the Affected often suffer from fever and attacked the respiratory system, but the body can fight the Virus by itself.
How many patients on the intensive care units and the large number of deaths, it can, however, also be different.
For these people, for this is a particular risk, there could be may reason for hope.
Because researchers were able to record in mice, the first positive results for the drug fluvoxamine as a remedy for a Corona disease.
Coronavirus: well-Known drug as a carrier of hope
In the United States, researchers are currently investigating for the first time in the Form of a clinical study in patients, the extent to which it can be used the drug fluvoxamine against Covid-19.
A total of 152 patients, who are suffering from Covid-19 be investigated at Washington University. One half is treated with fluvoxamine, the other subjects get a Placebo.
The test persons were asked to isolate themselves at home and be monitored by phone or online. The participants in the study, thermometers, oxygen sensors for the finger tips and automatic blood pressure measuring devices.
“We hope that we can turn away patients, which is good enough to be at home, by the administration of fluvoxamine, you must be sicker and go to the hospital,” explains Dr. Caline Mattar, a researcher of the Department for infectious diseases at the University of Washington.
Fluvoxamine is not a newly developed drug, but has been used for years in the treatment of depressive disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The study should be results, therefore, of success, would have proven the medicinal products available, a lot of and also affordable treatment option to combat the pandemic, because the product is already approved and widely marketed.
But how do you get to the fact that an antidepressant could make for the symptoms of Corona remedy?
The extent to which Corona and depression are similar
Since 2011, it is known that antidepressant therapies have a preventive effect against a derailment of the immune system.
2017 has been recognized in other research that Depressive self to an increased production of inflammatory cytokines – proteins that are important for the transmission of signals between the immune cells responsible and in too high a concentration of an Overreaction of the immune system can cause.
In this regard, the physical processes of patients with depression and patients suffering particularly hard on the Corona, could resemble: The immune system over reacts and turns, as it were, against his own body.
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Therefore, the Pre-experiments with mice at the University of Virginia School of Medicine so used to success, were promising: There was found that fluvoxamine was able to reduce the animal’s production of inflammatory cytokines.
According to hope, the Team led by Dr. Alban Gaultier is now in the launch of a clinical study, similar positive effects are also show in people.
This could mean that in the best case, that future Corona-treated diseases in a more targeted and thus much mild could be.
Sources
- University of Virginia: “COVID-19: UVA Discovery Spurs Clinical Trial of Antidepressant to Fight the Virus” , retrieved on 20.05.2020: https://news.virginia.edu/content/covid-19-uva-discovery-spurs-clinical-trial-antidepressant-fight-virus
- Neuropsychopharmacology: “The Effect of Antidepressant Medication Treatment on Serum Levels of Inflammatory Cytokines: A Meta-Analysis”, retrieved on 20.05.2020: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21796103/
- Nature: “Integrating neuro-immune system in the neurobiology of depression”, retrieved on 20.05.2020: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn.2016.69
- Science Translational Medicine: “Modulation of the sigma-1 receptor–IRE1 pathway is beneficial in preclinical models of inflammation and sepsis”, retrieved on 20.05.2020: https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/11/478/eaau5266
Larissa Bright Mouth
*The article “Coronavirus: this antidepressant against Covid-19?” is published by FitForFun. Contact with the executives here.