An inexpensive drug used to treat depression, anxiety, and restlessness, etc., may help reduce the chances of hospitalization and serious complications in people at high risk of coronavirus, COVID-19 infection.
This was revealed in the results of a large clinical trial.
Cheap antidepressant shows promise treating early COVID-19
A drug called fluvoxamine has been prescribed to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) for almost 30 years, but researchers have tested its effects during the Corona pandemic.
The reason for choosing this medicine is its ability to reduce inflammation.
The results of the study, by a group of experts from Canada, the United States, and Brazil, were shared with the US National Institutes of Health and are expected to be recommended by the World Health Organization.
They said that if the World Health Organization recommended the drug, it would be widely used.
A course of treatment for Covid 19 will cost 4 dollars, while antibody 4 treatments will cost 2,000 dollars, while a course of experimental antiviral medicine for Merck’s will cost 700 dollars.
Fluvoxamine was tested on about 1,500 Brazilians who had recently been diagnosed with COVID and were at increased risk of developing other medical conditions, such as diabetes.
Half of them were given this medicine at home for 10 days while the rest were given dummy medicine.
They were examined for 4 weeks to see which patients had to be hospitalized or turned to the emergency room.
The results showed that 11% of the drug users had to stay in a hospital or emergency room, compared to 16% of dummy users.
The results were so solid that independent experts involved in the study suggested that work be stopped as soon as possible because the results were clear.
Questions remain, such as how to determine the amount of food and its benefits for people at low risk of complications.
The trial tested eight existing drugs, one of which is still being developed for hepatitis C.
The results of the trial were published in the medical journal Lancet Global Health.
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