News on the Role of Antidepressants in and for COVID-19 and Long COVID

Dear Editor,

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic seems to be over, and COVID-19 vaccinations may have saved the lives of over 1.4 million people (predominantly of those over the age of 60 years) in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region since December 2020 [1]. The particularly SARS-COV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Type 2) currently appears to be less pathogenic than at the beginning of the pandemic, when its alpha variant encountered an “immune-naive” human race in 2019. But this virus is still among us, causing the hospitalization of thousands of people worldwide every week [2].

Publication History

Received: 10 June 2024
Received: 14 July 2024

Accepted: 28 July 2024

Article published online:
26 September 2024

• References

• 1 World Health Organization. 2024 accessed 20 May, 2024; https://www.who.int/europe/de/emergencies/overview/16-01-2024-covid-19-vaccinations-have-saved-more-than-1.4-million-lives-in-the-who-european-region--a-new-study-finds
• 2 Robert Koch Institut. STIKO: Aktualisierung der COVID-19-Impfempfehlung Epidemiologisches Bulletin. 2024 2. accessed 21 August, 2024; href="https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/Infekt/EpidBull/Archiv/2024/Ausgaben/02_24.html">https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/Infekt/EpidBull/Archiv/2024/Ausgaben/02_24.html
• 3 Xie Y, Choi T, Al-Aly Z. Mortality in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 vs influenza in fall-winter 2023–2024. JAMA 2024; 331: 1963-1965
• 4 Hoertel N, Sánchez-Rico M, Cougoule C. et al. Repurposing antidepressants inhibiting the sphingomyelinase acid/ceramide system against COVID-19: Current evidence and potential mechanisms. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26: 7098-7099
• 5 Bonnet U, Juckel G. COVID-19 outcomes: Does the use of psychotropic drugs make a difference? Accumulating evidence of a beneficial effect of antidepressants-A scoping review. J Clin Psychopharmacol 2022; 42: 284-292
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• 7 Mueller JK, Ahrens KF, Bauer M. et al. Prevalence of COVID-19 and psychotropic drug treatment in psychiatric in-patients in Germany in 2020: Results from a nationwide pilot survey. Pharmacopsychiatry 2023; 56: 227-238
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• 9 Wen W, Chen C, Tang J. et al. Efficacy and safety of three new oral antiviral treatment (molnupiravir, fluvoxamine and Paxlovid) for COVID-19: A meta-analysis. Ann Med 2022; 54: 516-523
• 10 Frontera JA, Thorpe LE, Simon NM. et al. Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 symptom phenotypes and therapeutic strategies: A prospective, observational study. PLoS One 2022; 17: e0275274
• 11 Wannigamnah DL, Hurst C, Phattharapornjaroen P. et al. Early treatment with fluvoxamine, bromhexine, cyproheptadine, and niclosamide to prevent clinical deterioration in patients with symptomatic COVID-19: A randomized clinical trial. EClinicalMedicine 2024; 70: 102517
• 12 Bonnet U, Juckel G, Kuhn J. Antidepressants for prevention of severe COVID-19, long COVID and outlook for other viral diseases. Front Med 2024; 11: 1305184