A generic drug called Naltrexone, which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for both alcohol and opioid addicts, could be what millions of sufferers of long COVID worldwide to finally alleviate their symptoms.
However, as specified in a Mail Online report, in small trials, "It has been able to ease long COVID patients" of lingering symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog that last months from the initial infection.
Researchers chasing long COVID cures are eager to learn whether naltrexone, a generic drug typically used to treat alcohol and opioid addiction, can offer benefits to millions suffering from pain, fatigue and brain fog months after a coronavirus infection https://t.co/fXiU6IbScH
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 18, 2022
The drug, being marketed with the label "Revia" is currently being touted as a critical puzzle piece of long COVID that has baffled experts for more than two years.
Larter trials are ongoing, and researchers are still in the quest for the mechanism for the reason naltrexone appears to be very effective in terms of treating long COVID.
Existing Long COVID Treatments
Existing long COVID treatments include therapeutics targeted at the symptoms an individual is feeling to manage his condition although there are no common treatments.
A Reuters report said that treatments comprise physical therapy, and drugs for the management of symptoms, such as chronic pain and respiratory illnesses.
Logistics expert for the United States Department of Transportation in Boston, Lauren Nichols, was a patient suffering from long COVID.
The 34-year-old reported symptoms of impaired thinking and focus, seizures, fatigue, pain, and headache since she got infected with COVID-19 in 2020.
Anti-Addiction Drug Shows a Promise Against Post-COVID Infection
In June, Nichols was prescribed by her doctor to take anti-addiction drug. Within months, she could already clearly think again, and eventually, she was pain-free.
The drug previously proved a promise against post-infection syndromes, such as chronic syndrome, experienced by people following a severe infection.
Naltrexone has anti-inflammatory properties and has been used before to treat conditions like fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn's disease.
Dr. Jarred Younger, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham said, it should be at the top of all people's lists for clinical trials.
Naltrexone Efficacy
Testing of naltrexone was included in an initiative by the National Institutes of Health worth $1 billion to discover the causes and treatments for long COVID.
At least four clinical trials that test the effectiveness of low-dose naltrexone or LDN against long COVID are currently underway, a similar US News report specified.
The condition is made up of a collection of around 200 symptoms that range from pain and heart palpitations to cognitive impairment and insomnia. Nonetheless, at 50 milligrams, naltrexone is approved for the treatment of opioid and alcohol addiction.
However, in research on long COVID, it is being used in small doses up to 10 times lower than that. Infectious disease experts at University College Dublin School of Medicine used the medicine to treat pain and fatigue linked to Lyme disease.
Lambert recommended naltrexone during the pandemic to colleagues who treat patients with long-lasting symptoms following bouts of COVID-19. As a result, it worked so effectively that he carried out a pilot study among 38 long COVID patients.
Patients reported improvements in terms of concentration, pain energy, insomnia, and overall recovery from COVID-19, two months after, findings published earlier this year specified.
Related information about long COVID cure is shown on Christy Risinger, MD's YouTube video below:
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