Common OCD drug may be used in early treatment for COVID-19, say scientists

According to the scientists, fluvoxamine, which is typically used to treat patients with OCD, has strong anti-inflammatory properties, which may help prevent the body's inflammatory reaction to the novel coronavirus.

PTI

November 13, 2020 / 22:20 IST

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Scientists have found that a drug commonly used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, if taken within seven days of first symptoms of COVID-19, may reduce the risk for respiratory deterioration, an advance that might lead to a new treatment strategy for the novel coronavirus infection.

The study, published in the journal JAMA, noted that none of the 80 patients who took the antidepressant fluvoxamine met the respiratory deterioration criteria -- compared to an 8.3 per cent rate in the 72 patients who took a dummy pill (placebo).For live updates on coronavirus, click here

"The results of the fluvoxamine trial are encouraging and warrant a further evaluation in a larger study. A treatment that can prevent lung problems in people with mild symptoms of COVID-19 is desperately needed," said study co-author Carolyn Machamer from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the US.

According to the scientists, fluvoxamine, which is typically used to treat patients with OCD, has strong anti-inflammatory properties.

They believe this capability could prevent cytokine storms -- the body's massive, sometimes deadly, inflammatory reaction to the coronavirus.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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