New Hope for Long COVID is Fading: Common Medications Do Not Offer a Permanent Solution

Efforts to find an effective treatment for chronic COVID disease, also known as Long COVID, have not yet yielded a clear outcome. A large-scale clinical trial based in the Birleşik Krallık revealed that common medications, which showed promise for treating this condition, did not provide the expected lasting benefit. Scientists tested various drugs to alleviate chronic fatigue, one of the most debilitating symptoms of the disease. However, the results demonstrated that current pharmacological options remain limited and that the search in this field must continue. This situation once again underscores how urgent it is to develop new and more effective treatment methods for the millions of people battling Long COVID.

This important research, published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, was conducted on approximately 800 adult participants at 12 specialist clinics in İngiltere and İskoçya. Researchers randomly assigned the participants to receive either standard care or one of three different drug treatments over a period of 12 weeks. The tested drugs included a combination of antihistamines believed to be effective on the immune system, the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine used to treat gout, and the anticoagulant rivaroxaban which prevents blood clotting. It was noted that the individuals included in the study had been experiencing Long COVID symptoms for more than an average of one year and were not hospitalized during the acute infection phase. This large sample group makes the research results extremely reliable and valuable in terms of Long COVID epidemiology.

According to the results of the study, none of the drugs used provided a permanent cure; in fact, some showed a much more limited effect than expected. Patients' fatigue levels were measured using a standard 40-point questionnaire at baseline, at 12 weeks, and at 24 weeks. Regardless of whether they used medication or not, all trial groups experienced an average significant decrease of 4.3 points in their fatigue levels during the first 12-week period. Patients using antihistamines or colchicine recorded only an extra 1.5-point improvement compared to the group receiving standard care. More importantly, the small positive effect provided by these drugs completely disappeared just twelve weeks after the medication was discontinued.

On the other hand, the anticoagulant rivaroxaban, frequently preferred to reduce the risk of thrombosis and stroke, was found to provide no clinical benefit in the treatment of Long COVID. The lead author of the study and researcher Professor Amitava Banerjee from University College London (UCL) stated that at the time the trial began in 2021, these drugs represented the most promising biological hypotheses against the disease. Banerjee emphasized that although antihistamines and colchicine target immune system irregularities, they cannot constitute a long-term solution on their own because the benefits obtained were not permanent. Furthermore, noting that the use of anticoagulants in the management of this disease is not scientifically supported, he stated that they do not consider it appropriate to prescribe these drugs for Long COVID complaints.

Despite the limited success of the drugs, researchers highlighted an extremely positive finding from the study: All patients recorded an overall improvement, regardless of which treatment group they were assigned to. Melissa Heightman, one of the co-leads of the study and clinical lead at the UCLH post-COVID service, stated that this improvement was largely due to the holistic care provided in specialist clinics. These units, where patients are assessed by professionals from various specialties and supported with personalized rehabilitation programs, are at the center of the recovery process. Considering that Long COVID manifests itself with severe symptoms such as months of intense fatigue, difficulty concentrating, shortness of breath, and muscle pain, the continuation of such multidisciplinary specialist services is of vital importance.