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another generic anti-depressant proves helpful against covid
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fluoxetine, the generic version of prozac, has joined fluvoxamine in helping fight severe covid, according to a new study. (getty)
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there’s now more evidence that people taking a generic anti-depressant are less likely to die from covid, for reasons experts still don’t totally understand.
a study from the university of california, san francisco looked at people with covid from 87 healthcare centres, from all over the u.s. of the 83,584 patients they examined, 3401 were prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (ssris), a specific class of anti-depressants.
they found that people on ssri, on average, were eight per cent less likely to die than people of similar age, sex, race, ethnicity and comorbidities who were not on ssris. looking at specific drugs, though, yielded more dramatic results. people taking either fluoxetine (the generic version of prozac) or fluvoxamine (the generic version of luvox) were 26 per cent less likely to die. death among people taking fluoxetine alone was 28 per cent less likely.
“we can’t tell if the drugs are causing these effects, but the statistical analysis is showing significant association,” dr. marina sirota, associate professor of pediatrics at uc san francisco told the school’s news outlet. “there’s power in the numbers.”
the study, which was published in the journal of the american medical association, suggests “that ssri use may reduce mortality among patients with covid-19,” although it specifies that further research is needed to confirm that theory.
the findings line up with a canadian-led study published earlier this year, which found that people who took fluvoxamine were hospitalized at a rate 30 per cent less than people who didn’t take the drug. it also reduced mortality in icu patients with severe covid. fluvoxamine could “be one of the most effective and convenient to treat the virus,” the national post wrote at the time.
why these particular anti-depressants — which primarily affect the brain’s serotonin levels — have any effect on covid isn’t totally understood. but it’s not unheard of: many drugs that are now used to regulate mental health were initially developed to help with physical ailments.
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in this case, one possibility is that people on ssris have reduced levels of several proinflammatory cytokines suggested to be involved with the development of severe covid, the uc san francisco study theorized. we know severe covid often involves inflammation, and many anti-depressants have anti-inflammatory properties.
fluvoxamine contains a protein called the sigma-1 receptor, which regulates the release of inflammatory molecules — including some that are believed to increase in people with severe cases of covid, scientific american explains. a 2019 study from the university of virginia focused on mice with sepsis. many who didn’t have the sigma-1 receptor developed inflammation and died, but many of the mice who received a shot of fluvoxamine survived.
ssris are not as effective against covid as the new anti-viral drugs developed by merck and pfizer, the uc san francisco researchers admitted. but the research could still provide a lot of help in fighting a deadly and difficult-to-control virus.
“the results are encouraging,” said dr. tomiko oskotsky, a research scientist in sirota’s lab. “it’s important to find as many options as possible for treating any condition.”
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