Antidepressants, can they protect you from COVID?

The post 2019 era has been hectic to say the least. And although, at the time of writing this, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, we’re still not out of the woods yet. Some say COVID’s here to stay. Me? I honestly don’t know. I don’t think anyone has the right answer about these kinds of things. What I will say though, is that it’s best to stay protected from the illness in whatever way you decide is best for you. What’s interesting though is that antidepressants may be protective from severe COVID disease.

One of the biggest studies to date about this topic was done in Brazil where unvaccinated & symptomatic patients either received Fluvoxamine, an FDA approved medication for OCD, or they received a placebo. What they found was that a significant number of individuals in the placebo group were hospitalized compared to those that received the antidepressant. Also, there was 1 death in the antidepressant group versus 12 in the placebo. This is just the largest study too. There’ve been many others that show Fluvoxamine as being a mitigator to COVID reactions. How does it do it?

Without getting into the fine details of things, there’s a little receptor in your cells called the Sigma- 1 receptor. It’s thought that COVID somehow uses this receptor to replicate itself. Having a drug bind to this receptor, such as Fluvoxamine, may actually limit viral replication. It’s also thought that this receptor plays a part in your body’s inflammatory response. When this inflammatory reaction gets out of hand, it could lead to significant complications and possibly death. Research suggests that medications that can bind to the Sigma- 1 receptor can actually lower that inflammatory reaction, thus protecting someone from severe illness.

So now you’re thinking, how do I get Fluvoxamine? Well, unfortunately it’s only FDA approved for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in the United States, so it’s hard to justify a prescription. But doctors have been using it for many of their patients to prevent severe COVID illness with great success. That said, other antidepressants such as Fluoxetine (Prozac), and Escitalopram (Lexapro) are thought to be Sigma- 1 receptor agonists as well, but don’t have much evidence behind them in terms of protection from severe illness from COVID. So next time you’re seeing your doctor, preferably a specialist, ask them what they think about these medications, and see if it’s a good fit for you. Who knows, maybe you won’t just feel better, but you’ll also receive extra protection from this annoying little disease.