A small College at Buffalo medical trial has discovered that at low doses, lithium aspartate is ineffective in treating the fatigue and mind fog that’s typically a persistent function of lengthy COVID; nonetheless, a supplemental dose-finding examine discovered some proof that larger doses could also be efficient.
Printed in JAMA Community Open on Oct. 2, the examine was led by Thomas J. Guttuso, Jr., MD, professor of neurology within the Jacobs Faculty of Drugs and Biomedical Sciences at UB and a doctor with UBMD Neurology.
It is a detrimental examine with a optimistic twist.”
Thomas J. Guttuso, Jr., College at Buffalo
As a result of lengthy COVID is believed to stem from persistent irritation and lithium has identified anti-inflammatory actions, Guttuso had really useful {that a} affected person of his strive low-dose lithium for persistent lengthy COVID signs. He was stunned when this affected person reported a close to full decision of fatigue and mind fog inside a couple of days of initiating lithium aspartate at 5 milligrams a day.
Aid from signs
Based mostly on this single case, Guttuso turned all for lithium aspartate as a possible therapy for lengthy COVID and really useful it to different such sufferers.
In response to Guttuso, 9 of 10 lengthy COVID sufferers he handled with lithium aspartate 5-15mg a day noticed excellent profit when it comes to enhancements to their fatigue and mind fog signs.
“Based mostly on these 9 sufferers, I had excessive hopes that we might see an impact from this randomized managed trial,” says Guttuso. “However that is the character of analysis. Generally you’re unpleasantly stunned.”
The randomized managed trial confirmed no profit from 10-15 milligrams a day of lithium aspartate in comparison with sufferers receiving a placebo.
After one affected person from the examine subsequently elevated the lithium aspartate dosage to 40 milligrams a day and skilled a marked discount in fatigue and mind fog signs, Guttuso determined to then conduct a dose-finding examine designed to discover if a better dose of lithium aspartate could also be efficient.
The three individuals who accomplished the dose-finding examine reported larger declines in fatigue and mind fog with the upper dose of 40-45 milligrams per day. This was very true within the two sufferers with blood lithium concentrations of 0.18 and 0.49 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) in comparison with one affected person with a degree of 0.10mmol/L who noticed partial enhancements.
“This can be a very small variety of sufferers, so these findings can solely be seen as preliminary,” says Guttuso. “Maybe reaching larger blood ranges of lithium might present enhancements to fatigue and mind fog in lengthy COVID.”
Dosage could also be too low
He notes that it’s potential the randomized managed trial was ineffective as a result of the dose of lithium aspartate that was used was too low.
“The take-home message is that very low dose lithium aspartate, 10-15 milligrams a day, is ineffective in treating the fatigue and mind fog of lengthy COVID,” says Guttuso. “Maybe we have to do one other randomized managed trial that makes use of larger lithium aspartate dosages that obtain blood lithium ranges of 0.18-0.50mmol/L to find out in the event that they could possibly be efficient.”
An estimated 17 million folks have lengthy COVID within the U.S., and worldwide the quantity is estimated at 65 million.
“There at the moment are not any evidence-based therapies for lengthy COVID,” says Guttuso. He hopes that the Nationwide Institutes of Well being will view lithium as price learning by a trial with larger dosages; the NIH is allocating an extra $500 million to check lengthy COVID therapies that look like promising.
Guttuso provides that if a subsequent randomized managed trial finds that larger dosages of lithium aspartate are efficient, lengthy COVID sufferers would nonetheless want to debate taking it with their well being care suppliers; as well as, he says, in the event that they do start taking it at larger dosages, blood lithium ranges ought to be monitored.
Supply:
Journal reference:
Guttuso, T., et al. (2024). Lithium Aspartate for Lengthy COVID Fatigue and Cognitive Dysfunction. JAMA Community Open. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.36874.
