- COVID-19 can cause long-term eye disorders, according to a cross sectional study in Nature Communications. Researchers in Sweden assessed 100 people with Long COVID and compared them to 32 people who had COVID-19 and “recovered.” “We found that the problems experienced by those affected were not detectable by standard tests,” one of the authors said in a press release, explaining that they had to use specialized examinations, including proteomics. The researchers found that immune dysregulation, dysautonomia, and nerve damage were linked to the eye disorders. Past research has found that retinal abnormalities may serve as biomarkers to help diagnose Long COVID.
- A new study in eBioMedicine found that people with Long COVID may have dopamine system damage in their brains. The small study included 24 people with Long COVID compared to 24 “healthy” controls who underwent advanced brain imaging. “Our findings provide compelling evidence that Long COVID involves the loss of dopamine-releasing neurons,” one of the study’s authors said in a statement, explaining that this damage in specific areas of the brain correlated with symptoms of Long COVID. The authors state more research is needed but suggested that improving the function of dopamine signaling could be a target for treatment. Other researchers have also hypothesized that impaired dopamine signaling could cause cognitive symptoms in Long COVID.
- A U.K. clinical trial found some repurposed drugs were not effective in treating Long COVID fatigue. The study evaluated the blood thinner rivaroxaban, the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine, and a combination of the antihistamines famotidine and loratadine. The results of the phase 3 trial, called STIMULATE-ICP, were published in The Lancet: Infectious Diseases. Researchers included nearly 800 people in the platform trial, testing the drugs alongside a control arm of people who received “usual Long COVID care,” which included pacing support. The trial was open-label, meaning participants knew which drugs they were taking. Participants improved somewhat in the treatment arms, but so did those in the control arm, meaning there was no significant difference between treatment and control and the trial failed on its primary endpoint.
