NIH Launches Clinical Trials for Long COVID Treatments
On Monday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released an important statement that indicated advancement in the hunt for extended COVID therapy.
The NIH is now starting clinical studies to look at at least four possible therapies for this illness after months of delays.
They plan to perform more studies to evaluate at least seven other medications in the near future, which is even more encouraging.
Congress’s December 2020 allocation of $1.15 billion to the NIH’s RECOVER effort is directly responsible for this development.
The goal of this funding assistance was to further the mostly observational research that had been done up to this point on the long-term health effects of COVID-19 infections.
The Office of Long COVID Research and Practice has been formed by the Department of Health and Human Services to lead and coordinate the administration’s efforts to tackle the illness.
Viral Persistence and Cognitive Impairment in Long COVID
There is no accepted definition for the complex and variable condition known as long COVID. While most people recover from a COVID-19 infection, there are over 200 distinct symptoms connected with it, and some people have residual consequences that may seriously impair a number of physical processes.
Clinical trials at the NIH are planned to evaluate many medicines simultaneously in an effort to find viable treatments faster.
The emphasis of these early studies will be on viral persistence and cognitive impairment, including problems like memory loss and brain fog.
One of the experiments that is still in progress is testing if Paxlovid, an antiviral medication made by Pfizer, may lessen the symptoms of viral persistence.
When a virus persists in the body, it is said to be persistent, which may harm organs and prevent the immune system from functioning properly.
The scientific community is getting closer to developing effective treatments that can lessen the suffering and enhance the quality of life for people experiencing prolonged COVID-19 symptoms, which gives millions of people affected by long COVID hope.
Source: thehill.com
