The National Institutes of Health is calling on long COVID patients to participate in clinical trials evaluating multiple treatments that may finally ease symptoms for millions worldwide.
The trials will include four potential treatments, will lead to additional trials in the coming months that will test at least seven more treatments, including drugs, biologics, medical devices and other therapies.
“Collectively, this integrated set of trials could inform clinical care in a broad range of long COVID patients,” acting NIH Director Lawrence A. Tabak said during a briefing Monday with reporters. “Our hope is that these treatments will work however we may learn that some interventions do not provide measurable relief and this will also inform patient care.”
About 15% of all adults in the U.S. reported having had long COVID symptoms at some point while 6% currently report symptoms, according to a January study from KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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What are the long COVID treatment trials?
The clinical trials are a part of the agency’s Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (Recover) initiative launched in 2021, the world’s largest program designed to understand, treat and prevent long COVID.
The trials will focus on viral persistence, cognitive dysfunction and other symptoms typically seen in long COVID patients:
- RECOVER-VITAL will focus on treating SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, when it stays in the body and causes the immune system to damage bodily organs. Trial participants will be given the antiviral Paxlovid for longer dosing regimens to see if it improves long COVID symptoms.
- RECOVER-NEURO will examine treatments for cognitive dysfunctions related to long COVID, like brain fog, memory problems and difficulty with attention.
- RECOVER-SLEEP will test interventions to help sleep patterns or the ability to sleep after having COVID-19. One trial will focus on hypersomnia, or excessive sleep, while another will focus on problems falling or staying asleep.
- RECOVER-AUTONOMIC will target symptoms associated with the autonomic nervous system, which controls a range of bodily functions including heart rate, breathing and the digestive system.
- Exercise and fatigue: NIH is also developing a fifth platform looking at the inability to exercise and fatigue.
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The agency plans to enroll between up to 300 participants in each trial arm, and even up to 900 participants in some of the larger trials, Dr. Kanecia Zimmerman, principal investigator of the RECOVER Clinical Trials Data Coordinating Center at Duke University Medical Center, said during a Monday briefing.
Those interested in learning more about the upcoming trials can visit recovercovid.org.
“Clinical trials to test effective treatments and interventions are a core component of the whole-of-government response to long COVID,” said Adm. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Coupled with adequate supports and services, access to clinical care and up-to-date information on what we know about long COVID, we can work toward relief for individuals and families impacted most.”
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