• 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).

According to Hashimoto (2021) Sars Cov-2 binds itself to the ACE2 receptor on the cells and this ultimately results in the activation of the acid sphingomyelinase which is responsible for the conversion of  sphingomyelin to ceramide. ASM/Ceramide system can facilitate viral entry. Fluvoxamine, which is an antidepressant inhibits ASM and formation of ceramide-enriched membrane domains and this results in decreased viral entry. The sigma-1-receptor agonist fluvoxamine may alternate ER stress due to SARS-COV-2 replication in cells, thus resulting in blockade against inflammatory events. thus early administration of fluvoxamine may block/delay clinical deterioration in individuals with SARS-COV-2 infections.

Resource

Hashimoto, Y., Suzuki, T., Hashimoto, K. 2021. Old drug Fluvoxamine, new hope for covid-19. Eur Arch Psychiatry an Neurosci (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/500406-021-01326-z