
He studied LDN in 18 long COVID patients, with 11 showing improvements, and said he believes larger, formal trials could determine whether LDN offers a true benefit. Hector Bonilla, co-director of the Stanford Post-Acute COVID-19 Clinic and a RECOVER adviser, has used LDN in 500 ME/CFS patients, with about half reporting benefits. RECOVER officials said they have received dozens of proposals and could not comment on which drugs will be tested until trials are finalized.ĭr. Other therapies under consideration, sources said, were antivirals, such as Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) Paxlovid, anti-clotting agents, steroids and nutritional supplements. Zach Porterfield, a virologist at the University of Kentucky who co-chairs a RECOVER task force looking at commonalities with other post-infectious syndromes, said it has recommended LDN be included in RECOVER's treatment trials. Younger believes naltrexone calms these hypersensitized immune cells.ĭr.

Others believe infections trigger immune cells in the central nervous system called microglia to produce cytokines, inflammatory molecules that cause fatigue and other symptoms associated with ME/CFS and long COVID. In laboratory experiments, LDN may have helped restore their normal function, a theory that must still be confirmed. Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik of the National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases in Australia suggest ME/CFS and long COVID symptoms arise from a significant reduction in function of natural killer cells in the immune system. Scientists are still working on explaining the mechanism for how LDN might work.Įxperiments by Dr. That study of 36 volunteers should have results by year-end, said company co-founder Sajad Zalzala. Other planned LDN trials include one by the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and a pilot study by Ann Arbor, Michigan-based startup AgelessRx.
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Lambert, who is planning a larger trial to confirm those results, said he believes LDN may repair damage of the disease rather than mask its symptoms. They reported improvements in energy, pain, concentration, insomnia and overall recovery from COVID-19 after two months, according to findings published in July. It worked so well that he ran a pilot study among 38 long COVID patients. Jack Lambert, an infectious disease expert at University College Dublin School of Medicine, had used LDN to treat pain and fatigue associated with chronic Lyme disease.ĭuring the pandemic, Lambert recommended LDN to colleagues treating patients with lingering symptoms after bouts of COVID. "These people weren't cured, but they were helped."

"It's not a panacea," said Jaime Seltzer, a Stanford researcher and head of scientific outreach for the advocacy group MEAction. One 218-patient ME/CFS study found 74% had improvements in sleep, reduced pain and neurological disturbances. Still, the drug is unlikely to help all patients with long COVID, a collection of some 200 symptoms ranging from pain and heart palpitations to insomnia and cognitive impairment. "It should be at the top of everyone's list for clinical trials," he said. Younger, author of a scientific review of the drug as a novel anti-inflammatory, in September submitted a grant application to study LDN for long COVID.

Several generic manufacturers sell 50mg pills, but low-dose naltrexone must be purchased through a compounding pharmacy. At 50 milligrams - 10 times the low dose - naltrexone is approved to treat opioid and alcohol addiction.
