One patient in the cohort was a nurse who had to significantly reduce her hours at work due to her long COVID symptoms. The researchers have since changed guanfacine to an extended-release form to reduce the risk of side effects. Two patients weren’t available for follow-up, and two had to stop taking the medication because of side effects, including low blood pressure and dry mouth. For some, the brain fog completely resolved, and they were able to return to normal activities. They also took 600 mg of NAC once a day.Īs mentioned earlier, eight patients reported substantial benefits. If it was tolerated well, they increased it to 2 mg after one month. What happened with patients in the case study?įor the study, patients took 1 mg of guanfacine before bed. In the meantime, people suffering from long COVID-often referred to as “long-haulers”-might try asking their physicians for a prescription for guanfacine NAC is available over the counter.īelow, the researchers share more from their findings. They hope it will lead to funding placebo-controlled clinical trials involving a larger cohort of patients undergoing this treatment. The Yale researchers, who were assisted in data gathering and organization by Naomi Lowe, a Yale physician assistant, published their case study in the Nov. Eight patients reported significant benefits, including improved memory, multitasking abilities, and organizational skills. Fesharaki-Zadeh worked with Arnsten and treated 12 patients with a combination of guanfacine and NAC. It was developed by Amy Arnsten, PhD, a Yale School of Medicine neuroscientist who researches the molecular needs of prefrontal cortical circuits.ĭr. Guanfacine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of ADHD (a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with prefrontal cortex function), and is also being tested off-label for TBI and other brain disorders. He saw some improvement in his patients’ energy and memory but decided to add a second medication, guanfacine, which is known to strengthen prefrontal cortical circuits. Fesharaki-Zadeh wondered if N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant that is being tested for TBI, could also help the cognitive deficits associated with long COVID. Fesharaki-Zadeh recognized the symptoms as being like those of his patients with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) suffering from post-concussive syndrome (PCS).Īs he saw more patients experiencing these issues after a COVID-19 infection, Dr. These cognitive abilities are generated by a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, and Dr. His patient complained of “brain fog,” a colloquial term for significant, persistent cognitive problems, including impairments in executive functions, memory, attention regulation, and motivation. When Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh, MD, PhD, a Yale Medicine neuropsychiatrist, met his first patient experiencing lasting symptoms from COVID-19 (sometimes called long COVID) in June 2020, he had an idea.
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