A study published by Brain, Behavior & Immunity – Health (March 2024) assessed whether treatment with low-dose naltrexone (LDN, 4.5 mg/day) and supplementation with NAD + through iontophoresis patches could improve fatigue symptoms and quality of life in 36 patients with persistent moderate/severe fatigue after COVID-19. The study detected a significant increase from baseline in SF-36 survey scores after 12 weeks of treatment, suggestive of improvement of quality of life, and participants scored significantly lower on the Chalder fatigue scale after 12 weeks of treatment.
The study found a subset of 52 % of patients to be responders after 12 weeks of treatment. Treatment was generally safe, with mild adverse events previously reported for LDN, which could be managed with dose adjustments.
The data suggest treatment with LDN and NAD+ is safe and may be beneficial in a subset of patients with persistent fatigue after COVID-19. Larger randomized controlled trials will have to confirm the data and determine which patient subpopulations might benefit most from this strategy.
The study can be accessed here.