Could the Key to Understanding Long COVID Be Found in the Gut?

For most people, a case of COVID-19 is easily treatable at this point in time. “Most” isn’t everyone, though, and the presence of long COVID has been a frustrating part of the medical landscape since 2020. It’s something that scientists are still working on better understanding, as it can be a huge disruption to the lives of people afflicted with it, both personally and professionally.

Now, a new clinical trial at Massachusetts General Hospital could bolster what we know about long COVID’s causes and how best to treat it. The study involves giving long COVID patients between the ages of 7 and 21 the drug larazotide, which is used to treat “issues relating to a leaky gut” and has also been used in clinical trials to explore its effectiveness in addressing celiac disease.

As David Cox explained at Wired, the age group covered in the study is there for a reason: long COVID can affect people in different age groups differently. This clinical trial is the first of its kind on this scale to focus entirely on children and young adults. It builds on the findings of Massachusetts General Hospital pediatric pulmonologist Lael Yonker, whose earlier research focused on the effects of COVID-19 on the gut.

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Yonker told Wired that finding participants who meet very specific criteria means that it could take a while for the results to emerge.

“I expect it will take one to two more years to recruit all the patients we need, but I would love to move faster,” Yonker said. But as Cox points out, this clinical trial isn’t the only one taking a deeper look at the causes of and treatments for long COVID — something that could be a relief for countless people around the world.