By Karen Kier, Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

In 1974, The Longest Yard was released starring Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, and Mike Conrad. The plot involves a former NFL football player who is arrested and sent to prison. Ultimately, a game is played with the prisoners against the prison guards. The prisoners win the game. While celebrating, Reynolds’s character appears to be walking off the field as though he might escape. The warden (Albert) is shouting for the guards to shoot him. Reynolds was retrieving the game ball and not escaping. 

The picture was filmed at the Georgia State Prison in cooperation with the Office of the Governor. The Georgia governor was Jimmy Carter. The film won a Golden Globe for the Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy). 

Burt Reynolds had some serious injuries from Florida State University football and a car accident. He took time off from football and took junior college courses where he was discovered and started acting. He attempted to go back to football at Florida State, but his injuries deterred him from continuing. 

Overcoming adversity can be a struggle whether that be prison, injuries or long COVID. Over the last few months more information has been published on long COVID. 

On June 13, 2023, the RECOVER Consortium published information in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on a definition of postacute sequelae from SARS-CoV-2. This is medical jargon referring to long COVID-19, which has been officially named postacute sequelae of SARS-Co-V-2 or PASC. 

The RECOVER study recruited from 85 different sites across the United States. RECOVER is part of the National Institutes of Health’s research to understand, treat, and prevent PASC. The study surveyed individuals who had tested positive for COVID-19 and individuals who were never infected. 

The data analysis revealed 37 symptoms more common in those infected versus those who were negative. The researchers developed a scoring system of 12 symptoms of PASC. These included fatigue, general unwell feeling (malaise), brain fog, dizziness, GI effects, heart palpitations, changes in sexual desire, loss of smell or taste, chronic cough, chest pain, abnormal body movements, and feeling thirsty. These symptoms will serve as the hallmark for long COVID-19 diagnosis. 

Another common complication of COVID-19 infection survivors is known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) as published in Vascular Health and Risk Management. POTS is defined as a 30-point increase in heart rate (pulse) from lying down to a standing position. This results in a decrease in brain blood flow and can lead to brain fog. POTS can be treated with lifestyle modifications and drug therapy. See your healthcare provider if you experience a rapid heart rate with changes in brain function. 

Long COVID Europe, which is a network of long COVID associations, launched a project to modify video game modules to simulate what life with long COVID is like. The idea was to allow video game users to experience the difficulty of living with long COVID-19. The project aims to educate on the most prevalent symptoms and the heightened fatigue. The group launched modifications to three popular games including Minecraft, Elden Ring, and Witcher 3. 

Another study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found hospitalized COVID-19 patients were more likely to develop long COVID if they had a lower vitamin D level. The study was performed in Italy and evaluated patients who had become infected with the Wuhan virus and prior to vaccinations. The researchers concluded a low vitamin D level may be a risk factor in developing long COVID. 

University of Minnesota researchers in The Lancet Infectious Disease evaluated the use of metformin to reduce long COVID in obese adults. The scientists randomly assigned patients recovering from COVID-19 to six different treatment groups to determine if they could prevent long COVID. 

The treatments included metformin plus ivermectin, metformin plus fluvoxamine, metformin plus placebo, ivermectin plus placebo, fluvoxamine plus placebo, and a placebo group. Metformin is used to manage diabetes while ivermectin treats worms and fluvoxamine is an antidepressant. Ivermectin and fluvoxamine were studied to treat COVID-19 and both were found in large clinical trials to be ineffective. 

The patients were started on one of the six treatments within 7 days of recovering from COVID-19. Metformin was the only medication with positive results. The metformin group was 41% less likely to develop long COVID over the next 10 months after the infection. 

An encouraging study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found an exercise program improved the quality of life of COVID-19 survivors. Previous research found those who exercised prior to developing COVID-19 infections had less severe disease and additional research showed exercise enhanced the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines. Both of these factors reduced the risk of developing long COVID. The researchers considered the benefit of exercise as future treatment of COVID-19 survivors. The study compared 50 people who completed home-based exercise training with 50 people with no intervention (controls) over 16 weeks. The exercise group reported better overall health-related quality of life and less muscle weakness compared to the controls. 

We have many long yards to go before we can overcome long COVID and improve the lives of those suffering from this syndrome. 

ONU HealthWise is offering bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Please call the pharmacy for more information. 

ONU HealthWise Pharmacy
419-772-3784