- Smell and taste aren’t the only senses COVID-19 can affect. A new national cohort study from South Korea found a heightened risk of hearing loss following COVID-19 infection. The study in eClinicalMedicine assessed over six million people between 20-39 years old. The study’s authors recommended that “even healthy young adults remain vigilant about the risk of [hearing loss] following COVID-19 to enhance the prevention and management of COVID-19 sequelae.” Hearing loss is also Long COVID.
- A new preprint in The Lancet found that the health and function of the vascular endothelium — or layers of cells lining blood vessels — is associated with neuropsychiatric Long COVID. The small study assessed over 100 participants and may help lead to a biomarker signature for the disease, as participants with Long COVID had distinctly elevated levels of measures called “vascular endothelial adhesion” and “vascular calcification” compared to controls. “Identifying abnormalities in vascular endothelial function, calcification, and remodeling may lead to therapeutic targets for [Long COVID],” the study’s authors wrote.
- A new analysis of Long Covid clinical trials in Life Sciences found a significant number of current trials are testing non-pharmacological interventions (like exercise) with insufficient evidence. The authors* recommended guidelines for future trials including testing potentially curative drugs, rigorous but accessible trials that participants can partake in from home, and increased equity and representation of participants. They wrote that “patient-led studies and studies with patient scientists and high patient engagement are most likely to meet these recommendations.”
*Editor’s note: Julia Moore Vogel, lead author of this study, is on The Sick Times’ advisory board. Authors are also affiliated with the Patient-Led Research Collaborative, which shares a funding source (the Balvi and Kanro funds) with The Sick Times. Our newsroom operates independently of financial supporters.
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