Vim & Vigor - Summer 2021 - 31

Antidepressant May
Prevent Severe COVID-19

oxygen slowly. I also took antibiotics, a
steroid called dexamethasone and the antiviral drug remdesivir.
The respiratory therapists had me use
a BiPAP machine (a noninvasive medical
device with a mask attachment) that would
push oxygen into my lungs, and they would
ask me to push air back out. It was so hard
and painful, and I coughed a lot. They would
say, " We're going to help you. You're going
to be a survivor. "

ILLUSTRATION BY KINGSLEY NEBECHI

Adjusting to Life After COVID-19

I left the hospital on July 10. I still had the
cough and headaches. I couldn't walk without getting dizzy. I still get that sometimes.
COVID-19 can do so much damage. My
hair thinned, and my vision changed; I couldn't
wear my old contact lenses and had to get a
new prescription. In getting to know other
COVID-19 survivors, I have met young people in their 20s who need wheelchairs after
having the virus.
But the nurses were so awesome, and I am
so grateful for them. They came from all
over, places like New York and Miami, to help
as cases surged in my area. I told each one
of them: You are truly our guardian angels. *

A common antidepressant, fluvoxamine, may
be able to keep people with COVID-19 out of the
hospital, according to a clinical trial based on a
University of Virginia discovery.
The trial found that fluvoxamine appears to
prevent COVID-19 infections from worsening.
Statistically significant results from the small
trial, conducted by Washington University School
of Medicine in St. Louis, prompted researchers
to launch a larger trial, which is enrolling 880
participants who can contribute from home.
Learn more at stopcovidtrial.com.
The trial is based on a 2019 research discovery by UVA's Alban Gaultier, PhD, and former
graduate student Dorian Rosen, PhD, who found
that fluvoxamine may stop the deadly inflammation known as sepsis, in which a person's
immune response spirals out of control. The
drug's apparent ability to dampen inflammation
prompted the Washington University team to
investigate its potential benefit for COVID-19,
which can also cause dangerous overreactions
of the immune system.
" If this clinical trial is proved successful, fluvoxamine could become a standard treatment
for patients newly diagnosed with COVID-19,
especially patients at risk, " says Gaultier of the
UVA Center for Brain Immunology and Glia, part
of the UVA Department of Neuroscience.
" Even the best vaccines do not protect 100
percent of the population, " Gaultier adds, " and
discovery of safe and affordable treatments
to prevent COVID-19-associated complications
is critical. "

Be the First to
Know About
Medical Breakthroughs

Keep up with the latest medical research news
from UVA Health. Visit The Making of Medicine
blog at makingofmedicine.virginia.edu.

VIM & VIGOR SUMMER 2021

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4/28/21 10:39 AM

http://www.stopcovidtrial.com http://makingofmedicine.virginia.edu

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2021

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