Key points from article :
The diabetes medication, metformin, could potentially reduce the risk of long COVID by 41%, according to new research led by Carolyn Bramante at the University of Minnesota.
Researchers examined 1,126 overweight or obese individuals, aged between 30 and 85, who had recently tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 but didn't require hospital care.
Participants were given a variety of potential treatments including metformin, ivermectin, fluvoxamine, or a placebo. After a 10-month follow-up, 6.3% of those who took metformin were diagnosed with long COVID, compared to 10.4% who took the placebo.
Neither ivermectin nor fluvoxamine were found to reduce the risk of long COVID.
Metformin's efficacy in preventing long COVID in other demographic groups, or as a treatment for existing long COVID, remains to be explored.
Research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
