- A new study found persistent neuromuscular abnormalities in Long COVID. The small study, published in Neurophysiologie Clinique, included 50 people with Long COVID who underwent two types of electromyography tests, which can provide objective measures of muscle function. Danish researchers performed the tests on specific muscles in the arms and legs, finding that 60% of the cohort had abnormal results in one or both of the tests, more than a year after their first exam. “These findings suggest ongoing neuromuscular dysfunction,” the authors wrote, noting that the study’s biggest limitation was a selection bias and that the results can’t be generalized for all people with Long COVID.
- Taking Paxlovid during acute COVID-19 may help reduce the risk of Long COVID, according to a small trial. The results add to a set of large electronic health record studies that found the drug to be largely ineffective in preventing Long COVID; this new study is one of the first randomized control trials. Norwegian researchers included 144 people in the study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, who took the antiviral during acute COVID-19, or a placebo. They found the risk of Long COVID symptoms at three months was 40% lower for the Paxlovid group than for the placebo group. Still, the researchers said the findings should be interpreted with caution because of the small sample size, noting that the trial’s study recruitment was terminated early. “There is a risk of overestimating treatment efficacy,” they stated.
- Researchers announced a new, controversial trial to study the “Lightning Process” for Long COVID. The heavily criticized “mind body intervention” has failed in trials for similar diseases and caused harm in people with Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The intervention has also been accused of “exploiting people” and called “quackery” by a psychologist; it was exposed in a BBC investigation. The new study, based at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, aims to recruit 100 participants who will either undergo the three day program and a few follow-up calls, or “pacing sessions,” for 26 weeks total. The primary outcome measure researchers are using for the trial is the subjective Checklist Individual Strength (CIS-Fatigue) survey, which has been criticized to “overestimate” improvements when used as a primary outcome measure.
