There may be a way to prevent long covid. The trial found that covid-19 patients who took metformin were less likely to be diagnosed with long covid up to 10 months later than people who didn't take the drug. The implications of this study will need more research.
A large group of researchers started the trial in 2020. It was intended to test whether three easily available and affordable oral medications could prevent covid 19 cases from worsening if taken early in a person's illness. In previous studies,metformin, ivermectin, and fluvoxamine had shown some potential effects on the immune system.
All of the groups were given two pills. Half of these groups received either a placebo or a combination of the other two drugs, and the other half received either a placebo or a combination of the other two drugs. The study design made it possible for many treatment comparisons to be made at once.
Over 1,300 patients over the age of 30 were included in the study. It was found that none of the drugs met the goal set by the researchers, meaning a reduction in the risk of a serious covid-related event. Metformin may reduce the risk of an emergency department visit, hospitalization, or death. The researchers decided to keep studying their patients after the initial trial period in order to see if any of the drugs could have a preventative effect.
They kept a record of 1,125 patients for about a decade. Patients were asked if they had been diagnosed with long covid during that time. 8.4% of patients said yes but those who took the drug were less likely to do so. The metformin group said they had been diagnosed at a higher rate than the control group. The people who took ivermectin or fluvoxamine were more likely to have a long covid diagnosis than the people who didn't.
The authors wrote in their paper that outpatient treatment with Metformin decreased the development of long covid by 42% in a randomized trial of adults with Covid-19.
It is important to note that there are some things that are not completely clear in this research. The data hasn't yet been peer reviewed. The results from a randomized controlled trial are considered the gold standard of clinical research. The definition of a chronic condition is difficult to pin down, which is one of the limitations of a long covid study. No single study should be seen as proof of a treatment's efficacy.
There hasn't been a lot of clinical research done so far that tried to look for preventive treatments. A lot of the data showing that vaccines can reduce the risk of long covid comes from retrospective observational studies, which are valuable but often come with more limitations than data from a randomized controlled trial. The decision to study long covid very early on was made by the researchers. Someone could cherry pick data after the fact. There are a number of reasons why long covid happens, but the antiviral and anti- inflammatory effects of Metformin may provide a plausible mechanism for its possible benefits.
Potential treatments and preventatives for long-term covid are being studied in clinical trials. The authors say that the findings suggest that metformin is worthy of a closer look as one of these options to be studied further.
They wrote that more trials are needed to see if there is synergy with other therapies.
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