The number of people suffering from addiction is at an all time high, with more people seeking treatment across the USA due to the fentanyl crisis, but new studies have shown that addiction drugs may not only be able to aid those suffering from the deadly disease, but also aid people suffering from long COVID.
While there has long been research underway to find a cure for the likes of alcoholism and drug addiction, it turns out naltrexone, a drug used in the addiction treatment space, is helping people who have been suffering from headaches, seizures and fatigue as a result of long COVID.
According to Dr. Paul Valbuena at The River Source, an Arizona drug rehab, naltrexone is typically used by rehab centers and prescribed to patients suffering from addiction to reduce cravings and the feeling of euphoria associated with substance use disorder, giving patients clarity and focus to concentrate on recovery.
Thanks to a recent report, that has also been revealed to be the case for those suffering with long COVID too, with Lauren Nichols, a long COVID sufferer from Chicago being prescribed the drug by her doctor.
She found that the drug helped quell her seizures and headaches, alowing her to think clearly and get on with her life as normal. It’s been a similar story for other patients too, and has marked a major breakthrough in the bid to help those who are still suffering in the aftermath of the pandemic.
It’s believed there will now be a larger study to see whether the treatment can be rolled out en masse, with the drug having been successfully used previoulsy by people suffering from chronic fatigue.
Steps are certainly being made to move forward, with it being added to a shortlist of treatments by the US National Institute of Health. As part of the RECOVER Initiative, it’ll be tested and trialled as part of a wider $1billion scheme to find treatments and any underlying causes that may be leading to long COVID.
Over the next 12 months we’ll expect to see just how impactful the drug can be on long COVID, while when it comes to addiction there will also be plenty more research going into finding new treatment and treatment processes as the opioid crisis in the US continues to get a grip of a large number of its residents, leading to more overdose deaths than ever before, and even being a large contributor in the average age of its citizens lowering for the second straight year.
