- A recent study in Frontiers in Medicine found evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can replicate in the placenta after maternal infection at any point of pregnancy. The study included 61 participants and 10 controls; severe replication was shown in 4.91% of the placentas, with low to moderate replication in 19.67%. “Replication was maximal in cases of stillbirth, which suggests direct placental involvement in the pathophysiology of this dramatic outcome,” the authors wrote. They recommended preventative COVID-19 measures during pregnancy and counseling for pregnant people infected by the virus.
- A small clinical trial of 30 people found that the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) antiviral, valacyclovir (750 mg) and the anti-inflammatory, celecoxib (dosed 200 mg twice daily) reduced fatigue and sleep disturbance in people with Long COVID. “I believe this finding warrants further investigation of IMC-2 [the combination of the two drugs] in larger scale, multi-center Long-COVID studies,” said Lucinda Bateman of the Bateman Horne Center in a press release.
- The National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER-Treating Long COVID initiative shared early results from their online portal collecting suggestions of treatments people would like the program to test. As of November 18, the portal has received 313 submissions, primarily from people with Long COVID. Drug interventions have been the majority of recommendations, with the most submissions for COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies and low-dose naltrexone. The online portal is will remain open through early 2025. Read more about RECOVER’s update in our coverage from last week.
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