• Give a short and critical explanation of the rationale of using fluvoxamine (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) in the treatment of Covid patients. Your answer must be properly and appropriately referenced (in-text references as well). 

Fluvoxamine is a potent binder of the serotonin transporter, leading to its antidepressant effects, but this doesn't explain any anti-COVID activity.

The off-target effects of fluvoxamine are more interesting. Of all the SSRIs, fluvoxamine has the strongest affinity for the sigma-1 receptor, which might lend it some of its anxiolytic effects. But that receptor has many effects. This 2019 Science Translational Medicine article suggests that the receptor may have a substantial role in cytokine release, which is, of course, a mechanism by which COVID-19 lands people in the hospital. It reduces the cytokine storm in COVID-19 and helps with inflammation.

SSRIs also have well-described platelet-inhibiting properties, and the prothrombotic nature of COVID-19 is equally well described.

Reference : https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958266