The data has changed.
Paxlovid, an antiviral medication, may offer relief to some patients dealing with long COVID, according to a recent study. While a five-day regimen of Paxlovid has been shown to help reduce symptoms and shorten illness during an initial COVID-19 infection, its effectiveness in treating long COVID—where symptoms persist for weeks or months—has been less clear.
In a small case series, researchers from the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) found that five out of 13 patients with long COVID showed significant improvements after taking Paxlovid. This contrasts with previous clinical trial results published in June, which indicated that while Paxlovid was safe, it did not reduce long COVID symptoms in a larger group of patients. These results were based on a study of 155 patients and published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The UCSF study, led by assistant professor Alison Cohen, aimed to explore alternative treatments for long COVID, as there are no federally approved therapies for the condition after nearly five years of the pandemic. Cohen noted that while Paxlovid is not a “silver bullet,” it may offer meaningful relief to many people suffering from the persistent effects of the virus.
For this study, participants were prescribed up to 15 days of Paxlovid, and the results varied. Success stories included a 56-year-old man who saw improvement in his symptoms after over two years of fatigue, brain fog, and other issues. Another participant, a 51-year-old man, experienced complete resolution of his long COVID symptoms following a 15-day treatment. However, a 45-year-old woman did not experience sustained relief after a 15-day course, although she found some temporary improvement after a shorter, five-day treatment.
Researchers continue to face challenges in understanding long COVID, as it manifests in over 200 different symptoms affecting various parts of the body. The UCSF team highlighted the need to further investigate why some patients respond positively to treatments like Paxlovid while others do not. Dr. Michael Peluso, an infectious disease researcher at UCSF, emphasized the importance of addressing the complexity of the condition to provide better solutions for the millions affected by long COVID.
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