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Addiction Drug Could Help Relieve Long COVID Symptoms

Addiction Drug Could Help Relieve Long COVID Symptoms
Naltrexone pills | Image by Shutterstock

After suffering for over two years under “a thick, foggy cloud,” 34-year-old logistics expert, Lauren Nichols, can finally “think clearly” thanks to a low-dose prescription of naltrexone, typically used in the treatment of alcohol and opioid addiction.

Millions of individuals report living with long-term complications from COVID-19. Now, researchers hope the same drug can offer long COVID suffers relief from often debilitating symptoms.

In the past, naltrexone has successfully treated a similar, post-infection condition characterized by severe fatigue and diminished cognitive abilities called myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

Naltrexone’s use in treating ME/CFS is helping reveal its potential effectiveness against similar symptoms arising from COVID-19. No less than four clinical trials will collectively study hundreds of individuals suffering from long COVID.

Naltrexone has also been identified for further potential testing under the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s $1 billion RECOVER research initiative. Reuters reported the program seeks to identify what causes some individuals to experience long COVID and which treatments can help with recovery.

It’s theorized that low-dose naltrexone (LDN) may help reverse underlying causes that ultimately drive the symptoms.

Dr. Jarred Younger, director of the neuro-inflammation, pain, and fatigue laboratory at the University of Alabama, said the anti-inflammatory drug had been used at low doses in the medical community for years to help with conditions like fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis.

Younger believes the promising potential of the drug to help combat long COVID needs more attention. “It should be at the top of everyone’s list for clinical trials,” he said.

As effective as the drug may be, not all long COVID sufferers will necessarily benefit. The effects of long COVID vary widely from person to person, with over 200 recorded symptoms, like heart palpitations, insomnia, cognitive decline, and pain.

One ME/CFS study examining 218 patients found that 74% experienced improved sleep, reduced pain, and fewer neurological disturbances. Still, that means over one in four patients reported no improvements.

Stanford researcher and head of scientific outreach for the advocacy group MEAction, Jaime Seltzer, tempered expectations, emphasizing that naltrexone did not cure people. Instead, the drug “helped” long COVID sufferers, but she insisted it’s “not a panacea.”

Infectious disease expert at University College Dublin School of Medicine, Dr. Jack Lambert, has experience using low-dose naltrexone to help individuals wrestling with pain and fatigue resulting from chronic Lyme disease.

Its effectiveness prompted Dr. Lambert to recommend LDN to his peers to help relieve patients experiencing long COVID symptoms. It also drove Dr. Lambert to initiate a 38-patient study testing the impacts of the drug on long COVID sufferers.

The study revealed that after two months, test patients experienced marked improvements in energy, less pain, better concentration, less insomnia, and overall improved recovery.

Dr. Lambert theorized that naltrexone may repair the damage done by COVID-19, not simply alleviate symptoms. The infectious disease doctor plans to undertake a more extensive study to verify the results.

Other potentially effective long COVID therapies, like Pfizer’s Paxlovid, steroids, and supplements, are also being considered for further study.

The National Institutes of Health has reportedly received dozens of proposals, though it’s unclear which drugs will ultimately undergo testing as part of the RECOVER initiative.

For Lauren Nichols, the results speak for themselves. Naltrexone “has made me feel like a human again,” she said.

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