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