Summary: Extended courses of Paxlovid may alleviate symptoms in some patients with long Covid, though its effectiveness varies widely.
Key Facts: Mixed Results: Five of 13 patients had sustained improvements in long Covid symptoms after extended Paxlovid treatment.
Long Covid Challenge: The condition affects 1 in 13 adults in the U.S., with over 200 reported symptoms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 17.6 million Americans, or 1 in 13 adults, have long Covid.
Conclusions Extended courses of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir may have meaningful benefits for some people with Long COVID but not others.
Summary: Although Paxlovid’s efficacy varies greatly, some patients with long-term COVID may find that their symptoms improve with longer courses of the medication. Five of the 13 patients in the study reported long-lasting improvements, while the other patients reported short-term or nonexistent gains.
This intricacy emphasizes how difficult it is to treat long-term COVID, a disease with more than 200 symptoms that range from respiratory problems to brain fog. To ascertain which patients might benefit most from antiviral treatments, researchers stress the need for more focused research.
Key Facts:.
Mixed Results: After receiving prolonged Paxlovid treatment, five out of thirteen patients experienced long-lasting improvements in their Covid symptoms.
In the United States, 1 in 13 adults suffer from the Long Covid Challenge. S. with more than 200 symptoms documented.
Future Research Is Needed: Research attempts to pinpoint biological processes and treatment-specific reactions.
UCSF is the source.
A case series by researchers at UC San Francisco indicates that some patients with long-term Covid may benefit from an extended course of Paxlovid, suggesting that this treatment option may be promising for some individuals who are experiencing incapacitating symptoms.
The findings contradict those of recent studies that have not demonstrated that the antiviral medication can reduce the disease’s lingering symptoms. To determine which patients might benefit from the medication and how long it should be administered, the authors stated that more research is required.
According to CDC estimates, 1 in 13 adults, or 16.6 million Americans, have long-term COVID-19. These patients endure symptoms ranging from headaches and brain fog to respiratory and cardiovascular problems for months or even years following their initial Covid-19 infection.
The first author of the paper, Alison Cohen, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF, stated, “Since the pandemic began approximately five years ago, there are still no federally-approved treatments for long Covid.”.
This isn’t a panacea, but it might be beneficial to many people. “.”.
Jan looks at the study. 6 in the Communications Medicine article published by Nature.
Patient interviews show that the medication helps some people.
A randomized controlled clinical trial of a 15-day course of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, the medication combination sold under the brand name Paxlovid, was conducted in June. The results showed that while it did not reduce long-term Covid symptoms, it was safe. According to the researchers, additional studies might reveal advantages for individuals with particular symptoms or at various dosages.
Some of the patients who worked with the UCSF team are part of the Patient-Led Research Collaborative, which is a group of researchers with long COVID and other related chronic conditions.
The researchers examined the effects of a longer course of Paxlovid to determine whether it might be effective for patients with particular symptoms or at different stages of their illness. They also looked into the experiences of those who got various SARS-CoV-2 strains.
Five out of the 13 patients in the study had long-lasting symptom improvements, they discovered. Others saw brief relief, while others saw no change at all. Paxlovid was taken for 15 days by many, though treatment durations varied.
For example, a 56-year-old man who contracted long Covid at the beginning of the pandemic suffered from headaches, fatigue, photosensitivity, brain fog, exercise intolerance, elevated heart rate, and joint pain for over two years. His symptoms did not improve during the five days he took Paxlovid in September 2022.
After taking it for 15 days, three months later, he reported that his physical and cognitive symptoms had improved.
And months after contracting long-term COVID in January 2022, a 45-year-old woman suffered from migraines, exhaustion, chest pain, and weight loss.
In October 2022, she experienced a three-day respite from her symptoms after taking a five-day course of Paxlovid. However, she experienced no change in her symptoms when she enrolled in a 15-day course the following month.
With over 200 symptoms, COVID has long been a challenging illness to define, diagnose, and treat. The world’s first long-term Covid tissue bank has been established by UCSF, and researchers are still working to comprehend the biological mechanisms underlying the illness.
As a principal investigator of the UCSF long COVID research program and an infectious disease researcher at the UCSF School of Medicine, study co-author Michael Peluso, MD, stated that “if we’ve learned one thing over the last four years, it’s that long COVID is complex, and figuring out why some people benefit so remarkably from antiviral treatment while others don’t is one of the most important questions for the field.”.
We must accept that complexity in order to find solutions for the millions of people who are afflicted by this illness. “”.
Other co-authors are affiliated with the Patient-Led Research Collaborative, which is a team of long-term Covid patients and people with related conditions who are also researchers.
Funding: This work was not supported by any funding.
Regarding this lengthy COVID and neuropharmacology research article.
Victoria Colliver is the author.
UCSF.
Get in touch with UCSF’s Victoria Colliver.
Image: Neuroscience News is the source of the image.
Open access to original research.
Alison Cohen et al.’s case series, “Impact of extended-course oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in established Long COVID…”. Medical Communications.
abstract.
A case series examining the effects of oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir given over an extended period of time in patients with established Long COVID.
Background.
Some individuals with Long COVID may benefit from a 5-day oral Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) course, either during or outside of an acute reinfection, according to previous case series. To the best of our knowledge, no previous case series of individuals with Long COVID who tried longer courses of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir have been found.
Techniques.
A case series of 13 people with Long COVID who started long courses (>5 days; range: 7.5-30 days) of oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir both inside (n = 2) and outside (n = 11) of an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection was reported. Prior to, during, and following their use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, participants’ health experiences and symptoms were recorded.
outcomes.
Some people who take nirmatrelvir/ritonavir for a long time outside of an acute infection report a significant decrease in symptoms, though not all of the advantages last. For others, there is no change in their symptoms. A participant’s severe stomach pain caused them to stop early.
Following an acute reinfection, both of the participants who received a prolonged course of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir report eventually reaching their pre-re-infection baseline.
Final thoughts.
For some individuals with Long COVID, extended courses of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir may be beneficial, but not for others. In order to inform clinical recommendations for the use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and/or other antivirals as a potential treatment for Long COVID, we encourage researchers to investigate how and why nirmatrelvir/ritonavir benefits some people and what course length is most effective.
