Cheap antidepressant could help treat COVID-19, study finds – GLOBAL

October 27, 2021

The drug fluvoxamine, commonly used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder or depression, shows promise as a treatment for COVID-19, according to a new study.

The study, published Wednesday in the journal Lancet Global Health, found that high-risk patients who took the pills shortly after being diagnosed with COVID-19 were less likely to end up in hospital than others who took a placebo.

“I think almost everybody at an early stage of the infection will benefit from this,” said the study’s lead author, Ed Mills, a professor of health sciences at McMaster University.

The study involved about 1,500 people in Brazil who were randomly assigned to receive either fluvoxamine or a placebo after they had tested positive for COVID-19 and showed symptoms. The patients were all at high risk of developing complications from COVID-19 due to either advanced age or other comorbidities, Mills said.

Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/8329782/fluvoxamine-covid-treatment-study/