- A clinical trial for non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation failed in improving fatigue in Long COVID. 45 participants used a specific transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) device, or a sham (placebo), during the four-week trial. Participants used the device for a mean time of 236 minutes per day. There was no difference in symptom improvements between the device and placebo groups. taVNS has been shown to help with fatigue in some autoimmune diseases, the authors wrote, adding that their results suggest Long COVID-associated fatigue may not share the same mechanisms for fatigue in those diseases.
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- A new study in JACC Advances compared two common types of dysautonomia in Long COVID, as well as their overlap. Researchers evaluated 270 participants who were referred to a dysautonomia clinic in Sweden; they found that 54% had postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), 15% had inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST), and 30% had both. The authors wrote that this overlap “strengthens the theory of shared pathophysiology of the [two] disorders.” People with IST had higher rates of high blood pressure compared to people with POTS and with both diagnoses. The study highlights how Long COVID can impact the cardiac system in different ways, “underscoring the need for tailored diagnostic and therapeutic approaches,” the authors concluded.
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- German health insurance companies will cover four off-label drugs for Long COVID and related diseases, the Federal Joint Committee recently announced. The drugs include ivabradine, a heart failure drug used off-label for POTS, and the diabetes drug metformin, which research has shown may prevent Long COVID. Two other drugs, agomelatine and vortioxetine, treat major depressive disorder and may help with fatigue and cognitive impairment of IACCs, the announcement states. Still, journalist Martin RĂĽcker argues the policy is a symbol of public health failure as little is being done for people with these diseases.
