- The Bateman Horne Center is beginning a phase 2 study of a cocktail of two drugs for Long Covid. The first is valacyclovir (Valtrex), an antiviral typically used to treat herpes virus infections, including Epstein-Barr virus; it has been shown to reduce the viral load of EBV. The second drug is celecoxib (Celebrex), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. “The combination of Celebrex and valacyclovir may inhibit herpes virus activation and replication,” the study’s investigators wrote. The study will enroll 60 women and will report data in 2025. Learn more and apply to enroll here.
- Last week, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for a new drug to protect immunocompromised people from Covid-19. The pre-exposure prophylaxis drug is a monoclonal antibody called Pemgarda that will offer more protection from Covid-19, especially in people with weakened immune systems who are unable to get vaccinated. (The drug is not meant to replace vaccination for others, but serves as an additional layer of protection.) It is still not clear how accessible the drug will be, especially to people with Long Covid; Evusheld, a similar, earlier drug that was rendered ineffective by variants, was not widely used.
- A new analysis looking at statewide electronic health data of over a million people from South Carolina found that people with HIV (pwHIV) may have a higher risk of Long Covid. The prevalence of “any Long COVID condition” was 58.68% for pwHIV and 33.80% for people who did not have HIV following a positive SARS-CoV-2 infection. The analysis was presented at the Conference for Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) earlier this month. For more on this topic, read our previous reporting: HIV may increase the risk of Long Covid. Why aren’t major advocacy groups addressing it?
- An observational study in BMJ Public Health found that people with joint hypermobility were 30% more likely to have not recovered after their Covid-19 infection. The study builds on others that show clinical phenotypes of hypermobility like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome may predispose people to other chronic illnesses like ME, dysautonomia, and Long Covid. “This observation is clinically important through its potential impact for understanding and identifying sub-phenotypes of Long COVID for screening and personalized targeted interventions,” the study’s authors wrote.
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