So long, long Covid? Clinical research shows that 20c diabetes drug reduces symptoms by 42%
- Metformin, the gold standard for diabetes treatment, reduced long Covid
- If taken within four days of symptoms, lung Covid was reduced by 50 percent
- Researchers at the University of Minnesota also tested three other commonly used drugs
According to one of the few clinical trials of treatments for the condition, a cheap and widely used diabetes drug could end long Covid misery for millions.
Metformin, taken by about 20 million type 2 diabetics in the US, reduced the risk of a person developing long-term covid by 42 percent if taken while infected.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota believe the drug can suppress the replication of infected cells in the body, reducing the oxidative stress and inflammation believed to be at the heart of long Covid.
In the trial, six percent of metformin users developed the condition — an amalgamation of many symptoms that plagued patients for months after they got over the initial infection — compared to 10.6 percent of people in a control group.
The study finds yet another alternative use for the diabetes drug, also sold under the name Glucophage. Tech tycoons have reportedly used it as a weight loss tablet.
Metformin is the gold standard for treating type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, but it can also help prevent long-term Covid symptoms
The above shows long Covid deaths (green bars) and Covid deaths (blue line). It shows that the number of long Covid deaths rose shortly after the number of Covid deaths
Long Covid is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the development of new virus-related symptoms three months after the initial Covid infection.
These symptoms can last for months to years, with doctors often wondering what caused them.
The condition includes a wide variety of symptoms, such as shortness of breath, brain fog and fatigue, and depression.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that one in 13 American adultsor 7.5 percent, has long had Covid.
But there is still a serious debate about its true extent and seriousness. Several studies indicate that most people who develop the condition would experience the common symptoms regardless of whether they had Covid.
Still, many scientists have been searching for an effective treatment to stop the symptoms since the start of the pandemic first emerged.
The Minnesota research team, which posted pre-print findings of their study on Mondayrecruited 1,125 participants who recently tested positive for Covid and had symptoms.
Each was randomly given either a placebo, ivermectin – the infamous antiparasitic drug, fluvoxamine – used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, metformin, or no medication at all to serve as a control.
They were followed up about nine months later, with researchers later finding out if they had ever been medically diagnosed with lung covid.
About six percent of people taking metformin later received a diagnosis from a doctor.
This is compared to 10.6 percent of people in the placebo group – a risk reduction of 42 percent.
When the drug was taken less than four days after the onset of symptoms, the chances of people contracting Covid for a long time dropped by more than 50 percent.
Other studies have shown that metformin can prevent long-term covid by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress or by terminating the production of the virus.
Neither ivermectin nor fluvoxamine lowered participants’ chances of suffering from Covid for a long time.
The findings may not entirely apply to the general population, as the trial only included people who were overweight or obese and between the ages of 30 and 85.
The study is still in pre-print and awaits peer review before being published in a major medical journal.
Experts hailed the discovery as ‘promising’ And ‘very good news’.
Metformin is commonly used as a treatment for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
The above shows that men and women aged 85 and over were at a much higher risk of having Covid on their death certificates for a long time than men and women in younger age groups
It is generally so effective and affordable that the WHO considers it an ‘essential’ medicine for pharmacies worldwide.
The drug is considered safe, but does have a warning label that it may contribute to a condition called lactic acidosis, in which excess lactic acid builds up in the blood