Neuropsychiatrist Carla Rus retired a few years ago, but is still passionate about her profession. So much so that she spent her spare time researching a possible cure for long Covid. None of the universities she wrote to had the resources to finance her research. And so Rus got to work himself.
Together with her husband (social scientist), son (brain researcher), a befriended former head nurse and professor of psychiatry, she conducted research into the effects of antidepressants on long Covid. On November 2, she presented her results with an article in the scientific journal Nature Scientific reports.
One in eight Dutch people suffer from complaints due to a corona infection
Long Covid, sometimes also called post-COVID, is the collective name for all long-term complaints that are the result of a corona infection. From an analysis by the UMC Groningen and the Radboud university medical center It appears that one in eight Dutch people suffers long-term complaints from a corona infection.
The medicine that Rus examined in her research is a well-known remedy for depression. These are SSRIs: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Colloquially known as antidepressants. The neuropsychiatrist knew this medicine could also help with chronic fatigue syndrome and saw similarities with long Covid.
“I knew that SSRIs only have a moderate effect on chronic fatigue syndrome, but because people with long Covid have more neurocognitive complaints, I started advising them on SSRIs from the end of 2020,” says Rus. ‘These turned out to work better for long Covid than for chronic fatigue syndrome. There are many similarities between chronic fatigue syndrome and long Covid, but also major differences.’
How does an antidepressant work for long covid?
Fatigue is also one of the most common symptoms of long Covid. In addition, concentration problems, brain fog and overstimulation are often mentioned. And it is precisely those neurological symptoms for which an SSRI can provide a solution, as Rus’ research shows. What’s up with that?
“The hypothalamic hypothesis-beinieras (HPA) is an important hormone axis in the body that controls your adrenal glands to produce the stress hormone cortisol,” Rus explains. ‘People with long Covid have, on average, only half the cortisol compared to what is normal. In other words: that hormone axis is considerably disturbed.’ The antidepressant SSRI seems to help against this.
In addition, it turns out from recent research that patients with long covid also have a lot less serotonin in the blood. ‘SSRIs ensure that the serotonin that is there can do its work for longer,’ says Rus.
Rus and her colleagues followed 95 patients with long Covid for their research. More than sixty percent saw a good improvement through the use of an SSRI and another 27 percent saw a moderate improvement. ‘There are people who used to lie in bed with blinders and earplugs and could no longer do anything at all. Now they can go for a walk again or take their children to school.’
The first results are hopeful
That all sounds very hopeful, but are there also side effects? “I have been prescribing this drug for anxiety disorders and depression for forty or fifty years,” says Rus. ‘We now see that the side effects of SSRIs appear to be stronger in people with long Covid. The side effects often correspond to the complaints that people already have, such as fatigue and headache. In eighty percent of people, the side effects virtually disappear after about three weeks. You just have to bite the bullet.’
Since publishing her study, Rus has already received many positive messages from both doctors and patients. But she indicates that more research is needed. A double-blind follow-up study is especially important to test the results. In addition, neither the researchers nor the participants know who is receiving a placebo and who is taking the real medicine. A doctor from the Amsterdam UMC is working on an application for such a study that builds on Rus’ results. If that research confirms Rus’s results, a medicine for long Covid will be one step closer.
Willeke van Doorn studied journalism, traveled the world for a while and eventually ended up at the editorial offices of Quest, National Geographic and Runner’s World via the United States, Australia and New Zealand. She is curious about the world, prefers to travel every month and always takes her running shoes with her.
2023-11-12 10:15:05
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