Question explored with the scientific record
ivermectin for gut and mental health
The short version: the retrieved evidence does not study ivermectin for gut or mental health, so there is nothing to ground an answer on for that specific question.
The studies that came up are about ivermectin as a treatment for scabies [1], COVID-19 [5, 6, 8, 10], and parasitic worms in animals [3, 4, 7, 9]. One case report shows ivermectin used alongside albendazole to clear a parasitic infection that was causing neuropsychiatric symptoms [2], but that is treating a known brain infection, not a general gut or mental health condition. None of these records test ivermectin's effect on gut microbiome composition, gut barrier function, or any mental health outcome like mood, anxiety, or cognition in healthy people or people without a diagnosed parasitic disease.
The evidence you need would be a randomized trial comparing ivermectin to placebo in people without a parasitic infection, measuring changes in gut bacteria diversity and validated mental health scores over weeks or months. That study is not in this retrieval. Without it, any claim that ivermectin helps gut or mental health is speculation, not evidence.
My call: the evidence does not exist to answer this question. Confidence: not clear.
Sources used 10
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Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Permethrin and Ivermectin in the Treatment of Scabies
A comparative study of 100 scabies patients in Bangladesh found that topical permethrin was significantly more effective than oral ivermectin in reducing clinical scores over a two-week period, with distinct but mild adverse effect profiles for each treatment.
DOI: 10.70818/bmcj.2025.v011i01.0173 -
A case report of mansonellosis with neuropsychiatric symptoms
This paper presents a case report of mansonellosis with neuropsychiatric symptoms in a young man, treated successfully with antiparasitic therapy, and discusses the clinical workup and implications for infectious etiologies of neuropsychiatric symptoms in tropical-origin patient…
DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.640 -
L'ivermectine dans le traitement de l'helminthose chez des pintades adultes (<em>Numida meleagris galeata Pallas</em>)
This study evaluates the efficacy of ivermectin as a treatment for helminthiasis in caged adult guinea-fowl (Numida meleagris galeata), demonstrating significant improvements in health and reductions in helminth infection rates.
DOI: 10.19182/remvt.8841 -
Anthelmintic activity of ivermectin against experimental Ascaridia galli infection in chickens
This study evaluates the efficacy of ivermectin against Ascaridia galli infection in chickens, demonstrating significant reductions in worm recovery and egg output, along with improved health parameters in treated birds.
DOI: 10.1016/0304-4017(90)90014-3 -
Ivermectin - an antiviral drug for the COVID-19 pandemic?
This narrative review concludes that ivermectin cannot be recommended for treating COVID-19 because robust trials showed no significant benefit in key clinical outcomes, although some lower-quality studies reported positive findings.
DOI: 10.12746/swrccc.v11i46.1141 -
Randomized trials - Ivermectin repurposing for COVID-19 treatment of outpatients with mild disease in primary health care centers
In a cluster-randomized trial of 254 outpatients with mild COVID-19 in Tucumán, Argentina, oral ivermectin plus symptomatic treatment was associated with significantly higher medical discharge at 28 days and greater symptom reduction from days 5–9 than symptomatic treatment alon…
DOI: 10.33448/rsd-v11i8.30844 -
PGP expression in Cooperia oncophora before and after ivermectin selection
This study investigates genetic selection and P-glycoprotein (Con-pgp-9) expression in Cooperia oncophora isolates before and after ivermectin treatment, finding no significant overall changes in Con-pgp-9 expression post-treatment, no bottleneck or differentiation in AFLP analy…
DOI: 10.1007/s00436-013-3473-5 -
Efficacy and safety of oral ivermectin in the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 patients: a multi-centre double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial
This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of oral ivermectin in reducing viral load in hospitalized patients with mild to moderate Covid-19, finding a statistically significant reduction in viral load but no significant impact on clinical symptoms.
DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-09563-y -
Comparative efficacy of moxidectin 2% equine oral gel and ivermectin 2% equine oral paste against Onchocerca cervicalis (Railliet and Henry, 1910) microfilariae in horses with naturally acquired infections in Formosa (Argentina)
In horses from Formosa, Argentina with natural Onchocerca cervicalis infections, a single oral treatment of moxidectin 2% equine gel (0.4 mg/kg) or ivermectin 2% equine paste (0.2 mg/kg) provided 100% efficacy against skin-dwelling microfilariae by Day 14 post-treatment, with on…
DOI: 10.1016/s0304-4017(97)00136-2 -
Repurposing Anthelmintic Drugs for COVID-19 Treatment: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials on Ivermectin and Mebendazole
An up-to-date meta-analysis of 23 randomized trials (n = 12,345) evaluating ivermectin and mebendazole for COVID-19 found no statistically significant improvement in viral clearance, hospitalization duration, or symptom resolution overall, although some individual studies sugges…
DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics14050459