A medication used for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may be the key to curing brain fog from “long COVID.”
Yale University researchers found that a combination of Guanfacine, an ADHD medication, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) was able to mitigate long-COVID-related brain fog in two-thirds of study participants.
The study only had 12 participants, but the results are promising, the Yale researchers say.
One of the study’s authors, Dr. Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh, a Yale neuropsychiatrist, said the idea occurred to him to treat “brain fog” with NAC in June of 2020.
Many patients flooded his doorstep, complaining of brain fog, after the onset of COVID-19. The virus is theorized to dissolve neural pathways by destroying myelin, the coating surrounding nerves.
However, long COVID remains a controversial diagnosis and is difficult to define. The most prevalent symptoms include chronic fatigue, loss of taste and smell, and brain fog.
The CDC estimates that 19% of people who have had COVID-19 later developed some form of long COVID. Of those suffering from long COVID, 3,500 have died as a result, the CDC reported.
Fesharaki-Zadeh wondered if NAC, an antioxidant used to treat concussions, could help restore neural pathways for those suffering from long COVID.
While his initial patients displayed some improvement, he later consulted Dr. Amy Arnsten, a Yale School of Medicine neuroscientist, and added Guanfacine, which sells under the brand name Tenex. Guanfacine also helps restore the prefrontal cortex.
“I feel so grateful for my collaboration with Amy Arnsten and that my understanding of traumatic brain injury could be helpful,” said Fesharaki-Zadeh. “Our success was a combination of having the right knowledge at the right place and time while working with the right people.”
Of the 12 study participants, eight reportedly showed vast improvements and were able to resume daily activity. Two of the participants were unable to complete a follow-up, and the remaining had to halt the medication due to side effects.
One patient worked as a nurse and had to cut hours significantly due to long COVD cognitive deficits. However, she found relief through Guanfacine and NAC.
“She needed to greatly reduce her working hours at a time when she was needed most,” explained Fesharaki-Zadeh. “Treating her condition not only helps her, it helps us all.”
The study did not have a control, and further testing is needed to evaluate its effectiveness. However, sufferers of long COVID brain fog may find relief in NAC, an affordable and widely available over-the-counter medication, after consulting their doctor.
Studies have found that obese patients with long COVID who adopt healthy lifestyle habits (e.g., nutrition habits and exercise) can reduce the impact and severity of their long COVID symptoms. The Texas Department of State Health Services reports that 33.1% of Dallas-Fort Worth residents are obese, with a body mass index of 30.0 or higher.