- Metformin may help reduce the risk of Long COVID, according to two new studies. One large study from the United Kingdom found that it reduced the rate of Long COVID in “obese and overweight” people by 63% percent. The study assessed over 600,000 people, of which nearly 3,000 took the drug — approved to treat type 2 diabetes — within 90 days of their SARS-C0V-2 infections. Another study, a preprint shared in medRxiv, found metformin slightly reduced the risk of Long COVID for those who took it, but it did not meet the researchers’ prespecified threshold to declare efficacy. Still, they did find that the rate of clinician diagnosis of Long COVID was lower in the metformin group.
- A Phase 2 clinical trial is studying the drug vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838) for Long COVID. Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the study will evaluate the effectiveness of the antiviral drug, which is also being investigated to treat multiple sclerosis. Participants will take the drug for 56 days, and will be followed for 28 days after they stop the intervention. Read more about the study here.
- The National Institutes of Health’s second RECOVER-Treating Long COVID workshop is happening next week, September 9–10. The meeting’s agenda suggests that the next generation of RECOVER clinical trials may include testing a Glucose-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist (GLP-1), stellate ganglion blocks, low-dose naltrexone, and expanded funding for a trial on the JAK inhibitor baricitinib. You can register here, and submit your questions for the workshop. Our team will be live-blogging the event next week and reporting on the upcoming announcement of new clinical trials.
