This article is a review and commentary of a single study on the successful treatment and rapid recovery of 31 out of 33 patients with LongCovid. Other terms used for LongCovid are: “Long hauler, Long COVID, Post-COVID Syndrome, Post-acute COVID, Persistent COVID-19, Chronic COVID, Subacute COVID-19.” [2] The patients were treated with ivermectin.

Disclosure: this article’s author has a family member who was successfully treated for LongCovid with ivermectin.

Study Title: “Post-Acute or Prolonged Covid-19: Treatment with Ivermectin for Patients with Persistent, Or Post-Acute Symptoms.”
Study Authors: Aguirre-Chang, Gustavo; Castillo Saavedra, Eduardo; Yui Cerna, Manuel; Trujillo Figueredo, Aurora; Córdova Masías, José.
Publication: Research Gate. July 11, 2020. English translation copy edited by Madeline Oh.
https://tinyurl.com/longcovid-ivermectin

Introduction to LongCovid

“INTRODUCTION: It is estimated that between 10 to 45% of people who become ill with COVID-19 will present with symptoms after the acute stage of the disease. These symptoms will persist for weeks, developing what is called Persistent or Post-Acute Symptoms of COVID-19. There is no consensus, nor has there been a publication on specific and effective treatment for these cases. Knowledge is quite lacking as to its etiopathogenesis.” [1]

Etiopathogensis is the cause and development of a disease or illness. Covid-19 is a new disease, first identified in late 2019. A common working hypothesis is that the virus originated in bats and then jumped to humans via an intermediate animal host. This may have occurred sometime from October to December of 2019.

As the disease achieved worldwide recognition and the number of persons affected grew, it soon became clear that a proportion of Covid-19 patients did not recover as soon as most patients who recovered. Instead, these patients saw a rather typical course of the disease Covid-19, but then they faced a new set of symptoms, often substantially different from the original course of the disease. As this new illness or different version of Covid-19 continued, month after month, without relief, these patients became known as “longhaulers” after the lengthy course of this illness, and the illness was called LongCovid (among many other terms).

According to the study reviewed in this article, 10 to 45% of Covid-19 patients have symptoms which continue for weeks or months after the main course of the disease has ended. They still have fatigue, and it simply does not go away. They have one or a few symptoms, often mild compared to Covid-19 itself. But among this large group of Covid-19 patients who have continued symptoms which are few and mild, there are the Longhaulers. They represent closer to 10% than to 45% of post-acute Covid-19 patients. And their symptoms are not mild.

LongCovid patients often have either many mild to moderate symptoms. Their symptoms are often neurological: fatigue, brain fog (difficulty concentrating) and memory loss are common. Many other symptoms occur in these patients. The cause of LongCovid is a matter of varied hypotheses and disagreement among physicians and researchers. It may be caused by viral persistence. The Covid-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, continues in the body, despite the presence of antibodies and trained T-cells. Or it may be caused by the damage done by Covid-19, which leaves the body in a broken state with many areas of dysfunction. Or it may be caused by dysregulation of the immune system, along with the inflammation that results from that state. Finally, the cause may be two or three of the aforementioned possibilities.

Treatments for LongCovid have often not been successful. Many LongCovid patients are unable to obtain meaningful medical care. Physicians do not know how to diagnose or treat LongCovid. There is no formal guidance from medical authorities on LongCovid as of this writing. Many Longhaulers did not receive any Covid-19 specific treatment in the acute phase of the disease, and now they self-treat, unsuccessfully. There is no known effective treatment or cure for LongCovid — until recently. As this study shows, Ivermectin can successfully resolve the symptoms of persons with LongCovid.

Treatment

“MATERIALS AND METHODS: 33 patients with Persistent or Post-Acute Symptoms of COVID-19, who were between weeks 4 and 12 from the onset of symptoms were enrolled in the present study. Patients whose main symptoms were musculoskeletal, such as fatigue due to muscle weakness, diminished muscle strength and myalgia (muscle pain) were excluded. The following protocol was followed: in cases with mild symptoms, Ivermectin was administered at a dose of 0.2 mg per kilogram of body weight per day for 2 days. If patients still had symptoms after the 2 doses, 2 additional days of Ivermectin treatment were given at the same dose. For cases with moderate symptoms, a dose of 0.4 mg per kilogram of body weight was prescribed for 2 days, followed by 0.2 mg per kilogram of body weight for 2 additional days. If a patient continued to have symptoms after the fourth day of treatment, more doses of Ivermectin were indicated. Treatment then continued for additional days until either clinical improvement was observed, or there was no longer further clinical improvement with treatment.” [1]

Patients with fatigue were excluded. This author’s family member had LongCovid — memory loss, brain fog, fatigue, loss of appetite, mood swings — which was resolved with treatment by ivermectin. Persons with fatigue may also respond to ivermectin.

These LongCovid patients were early in the course of this post-acute illness. Results might be different in persons with longstanding LongCovid.

For patients with mild symptoms, the protocol was 0.2 mg of ivermectin per kilogram of patient body weight. This dose was given for two consecutive days.

For patients with moderate symptoms, the dose was doubled to 0.4 mg per kg of body weight, for the first two consecutive days. Then for the next two days, the lower dose of 0.2 mg/kg was given. So the length of treatment was double, four days total, at a higher dose for the first two days.

Then: “If a patient continued to have symptoms after the fourth day of treatment, more doses of Ivermectin were indicated. Treatment then continued for additional days until either clinical improvement was observed, or there was no longer further clinical improvement with treatment.” [1]

The dosing used in this study is similar to that used in the i-MASK protocol. See the chart in this PDF file for dosing and body weight.

Results

“RESULTS: 33 adult patients with Persistent or Post-Acute Symptoms of COVID-19 were treated with Ivermectin. In 94% of the 33 patients, clinical improvement to some degree (partial or total) was observed after 2 doses of Ivermectin. Total improvement (without any symptoms) was observed in 87.9% of the patients after the 2 daily doses of Ivermectin. In 12.1% of patients whose symptoms had not been completely resolved after the first 2 doses, additional doses of Ivermectin treatment were administered according to the protocol, and total clinical resolution of symptoms was observed in 94% of cases.” [1]

This is most important, after only 2 daily doses of ivermectin, 29 out of the 33 patients saw total improvement, that is, the complete absence of all symptoms. This is a remarkable effectiveness. Recall that 10 to 45% of persons with Covid-19 have post-acute symptoms. Millions are suffering from these symptoms. And the solution for a large percentage and a vast number of them is a widely-used safe medication, in use worldwide for decades, inexpensive and widely-available: ivermectin.

Conclusion

“CONCLUSION: The result of the present study demonstrates that clinical improvement is observed in high percentage of patients with Persistent or Post-Acute Symptoms of COVID-19 who are treated with Ivermectin. Given the high number of patients with Persistent Symptoms and a favorable clinical response seen after receiving this specific treatment, we recommend that additional clinical studies be carried out on the use of Ivermectin and other drugs to reduce and eliminate the viral load in these cases.” [1]

Application

The current count for reported Covid-19 cases worldwide is in excess of 90 million. Many persons believe this count to under-represent the true number of cases, since some infected persons fear going to the hospital, or do not have healthcare access. If the percentage of Covid-19 cases that turn into LongCovid is merely 10%, that is 9 million LongCovid cases, plus 10% of the unreported cases as well.

After communicating with many longhaulers online, I can tell you that it seems most persons who self-report a case of LongCovid online have not been treated successfully. Many are reluctant to take ivermectin, as their doctors do not recommend it. Some cannot find a doctor who will prescribe it (see below for more on that point). Most have had LongCovid for many months without relief. I hope that there will be further studies of ivermectin as a treatment for LongCovid.

In the meantime, if a physician wishes to treat a LongCovid patient with ivermectin, the doctor and patient will know within mere days if it is successful. Since the medication is safe and may bring relief to Longhaulers very quickly, why not try it in your patients?

The above study [1] treated Longhaulers who had been sick for 12 or fewer weeks. So we don’t know how effective ivermectin would be for those who have had LongCovid for a longer period of time. It was also a small study. However, there are more than a few studies showing that ivermectin is an effective treatment against Covid-19 itself, and an effective prophylactic. So it makes sense to try ivermectin on a patient with LongCovid.

An individual with LongCovid, a relative of mine, was successfully treated with ivermectin. She was ill for about 2 months, six weeks of which was the period of LongCovid. The treatment with ivermectin showed relief from all symptoms in mere days.

Another individual, whom I communicated with online, reported using ivermectin once a week for relief from her symptoms of LongCovid in the range of 80 to 90%. But then the symptoms would recur on a weekly basis. Perhaps she would have benefited from a higher dose or a longer treatment.

For those persons with LongCovid who are not successfully treated with ivermectin, another option in the realm of prescription medications is steroids. More information is here.

Where To Find Ivermectin

Some Longhaulers would like to be treated with ivermectin, and cannot find a doctor who will prescribe it. In some nations, like Mexico, ivermectin is an over-the-counter medication, available without a prescription. In other nations, a prescription is required. (In a few places, ivermectin may be illegal. Check your local laws. This blog has readers in many nations.)

Ivermectin is a legal prescription medication in the United States and many other nations. However, it is only FDA approved for scabies and similar parasitic infections. Its use to treat Covid-19 is not FDA approved. Even so, about 21% of the prescription medications doctors give in the U.S. each year, across all illnesses and medication types are “off-label”, meaning a medication approved for one illness is used by the doctor for a different illness. It is legal in the U.S. for physicians and other prescribers to write off-label prescriptions. But with a new and controversial disease, Covid-19, many are reluctant to do so.

America’s Frontline Doctors have stated to me in a email that their physicians sometimes prescribe ivermectin for Covid-19:

“Our telemed doctors prescribe Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin for Covid-19 treatment and prevention, and can treat many other medical issues, in all 50 states. If this is something you are interested in you will find everything on our website under the COVID 19 tab on the top. Please read the LEARN MORE ABOUT HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE section so you have an understanding how it works.” AFLDS.com

Another source is the FLCCC Alliance, which has a list of MATH+ friendly doctors in many nations here. The FLCCC Alliance promotes the i-MASK protocol, which includes ivermectin for prevention as well as treatment of Covid-19 itself. They also promote the use of MATH+, which is another protocol for treating Covid-19 patients, mainly directed at in-hospital patients.

Ronald L. Conte Jr.
Covid.us.org
“an author, not a doctor”

References:

1. “Post-Acute or Prolonged Covid-19: Treatment with Ivermectin for Patients with Persistent, Or Post-Acute Symptoms.” Aguirre-Chang, Gustavo; Castillo Saavedra, Eduardo; Yui Cerna, Manuel; Trujillo Figueredo, Aurora; Córdova Masías, José. Research Gate. July 11, 2020. English translation copy edited by Madeline Oh.
https://tinyurl.com/longcovid-ivermectin

2. See the title and subtitle of this article: “COVID-19: THERAPEUTIC TEST FOR PATIENTS WITH PERSISTENT SYMPTOMS OR POST-ACUTE. For Long hauler, Long COVID, Post-COVID Syndrome, Post-acute COVID, Persistent COVID-19, Chronic COVID, Subacute COVID-19.”
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344325326