The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced the launch of four more long-COVID clinical trials, which will examine sleep disturbances, exercise intolerance, and post-exertional malaise. The studies add to six earlier investigations that are part of the NIH’s Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative.
The newly announced trials will assess potential treatments for the symptoms and will enroll about 1,660 people across 50 study sites, the NIH said. Urgent need for answers
Walter J. Koroshetz, MD, who directs the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and co-leads its RECOVER Initiative, said, "When people can’t get reliable sleep, can’t exert themselves and feel sick following tasks that used to be simple, the physical and mental anguish can lead to feelings of utter helplessness. We urgently need to come up with answers to help those struggling with long COVID feel whole again."
One of the RECOVER-SLEEP trials will test two Food and Drug Administration–approved drugs—modafinil and solriamfetol—to treat people with long COVID who have problems staying awake during the day. Another will test potential treatments for complex sleep disturbances due to long COVID, including melatonin and light therapy.
Meanwhile, one of the RECOVER-ENERGIZE trials will examine if a personalized cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program can help long-COVID patients with exercise intolerance, and another will look at structured pacing as potential treatment for post-exertional malaise.
The NIH said all four trials were developed using feedback from the community, which included patient representatives.
NIH announces long-COVID trials to examine treatments for sleep, exercise disruptions
