- A large study recently connected “chronic absenteeism” to pediatric Long COVID, further disproving the “immunity debt” talking points from pundits earlier in the pandemic. Published in the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases, the study assessed over 11,000 children and found that those who had experienced Long COVID were 2.5 times as likely to be at risk of missing school for long periods of time due to the disabling disease. “Long COVID remains a public health concern in U.S. school-aged children,” the authors concluded, stating that educational institutions need to “recognize the potential for accommodations that support learning goals and social development.” Still, there was no mention COVID-19 prevention in the author’s conclusion.
- A small mechanistic study in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health found that immunoglobulin G (IgG), a type of antibody in the blood, isolated from people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) can destroy mitochondria in endothelial cells, or the cells lining the inside of your blood vessels. The study included samples from over 100 people, including some with pre-COVID ME, some with ME after COVID-19, some with multiple sclerosis (MS), and some controls. The authors hypothesized that people with “post-COVID ME” represent an early stage of the disease, where inflammation dominates clinical outcomes, whereas those who have had ME for longer “represent the chronic nature of the disease,” with symptoms driven more by a disrupted metabolism.
- ADDRESS-LC, the clinical trial assessing the investigational drug Bezisterim (NE3107) for neurological symptoms of Long COVID, has opened two more study sites: a new one in California and one in Connecticut. The study now includes 19 sites around the country; other states with sites are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia. Study contact: Penelope Markham, pmarkham@bioviepharma.com.
