Diabetes drug may scale back probabilities of getting lengthy COVID, examine suggests

Taking a Type 2 diabetes drug when you have coronavirus reduces probabilities of getting lengthy COVID by 40%, a brand new examine has recommended.

Metformin is an affordable drug used to manage blood sugar in sufferers with Type 2 diabetes.

Scientists within the US have discovered that contributors who took a two-week course inside three days of a constructive take a look at outcome have been much less prone to nonetheless have coronavirus signs 10 months later.

The trial, printed within the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, was carried out on 1,126 obese or overweight folks over the age of 30 between December 2020 and January 2022.

It confirmed that solely 6.3% of contributors given the drug reported a protracted COVID prognosis, in contrast with 10.4% of those that took a placebo – 40% fewer.

It is the primary peer-reviewed part three trial exhibiting that taking treatment whereas contaminated may assist forestall lengthy COVID.

It helps earlier research that present metformin stops the virus from reproducing in lab situations and reduces the probabilities of obese or overweight folks being hospitalised or dying from COVID.

There are at the moment an estimated two million folks within the UK with lengthy COVID, which implies they nonetheless reported signs after 4 weeks.

There isn’t any identified treatment, though a latest examine by Israeli researchers recommended that most individuals with lingering signs discover they’re gone inside a yr.

‘Urgent’ want to seek out lengthy COVID therapies

Dr Carolyn Bramante, the US examine’s creator of the University of Minnesota Medical School, described the situation as a “significant public health emergency”.

“It may have lasting physical health, mental health and economic impacts, especially in socioeconomically marginalised groups,” she mentioned.

“There is an pressing want to seek out potential therapies and methods to forestall this illness.

Read extra:
Drug helps scale back fatigue in lengthy COVID
How lengthy COVID ruined my life
Most have organ harm a yr later

“Our study showed that metformin … substantially reduces the risk of being diagnosed with long COVID if taken when first infected with the coronavirus.”

She careworn that it doesn’t present the drug would assist folks already struggling with lengthy COVID.

Further research on a wider group are but to happen.