The COVID-OUT study brings fresh hope to those fighting COVID-19, demonstrating the preventive power of a common drug against the long-term complications of the virus.
In recently released research featured in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a team from the University of Minnesota reports that the anti-diabetic medication, metformin, inhibits the progression to long COVID.
The investigation, named COVID-OUT, analyzed whether the early outpatient management of COVID-19 with metformin, ivermectin, or fluvoxamine could prevent the progression to long COVID, a persistent illness that potentially impacts up to 10% of individuals who contract COVID-19.
Dr. Carolyn Bramante, the chief investigator and an assistant professor at U of M Medical School, emphasized the significance of these findings, highlighting that long COVID can severely affect people’s daily functioning.
“Metformin is an inexpensive, safe and widely available drug, and its use as a preventive measure could have significant public health implications.”
The study constituted a large-scale, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial, recruiting volunteers from all over the United States. Key findings include:
- Participants administered metformin displayed over a 40% reduction in the risk of developing long COVID compared to those given a placebo with identical appearance.
- Among those who began metformin administration less than four days post the onset of COVID symptoms, the drug reduced the risk of long COVID by 63%.
- The impact was uniform among various demographic groups of volunteers and across multiple COVID-19 variants, including Omicron.
- Neither ivermectin nor fluvoxamine prevented the onset of long COVID.
The study enlisted over 1,200 participants, randomized to either receive metformin or a placebo. A distinct subset was assigned ivermectin, fluvoxamine, or their corresponding placebos. Participants were aged between 30 and 85 years and identified as overweight or obese. Over 1,100 participants monitored their symptoms for up to 10 months post their initial COVID-19 diagnosis.
Dr. Bramante, who also serves as an internist and pediatrician with M Health Fairview, said, “This long-term outcome from a randomized trial is high-quality evidence that metformin prevents harm from the SARS-CoV-2 virus,”
Despite half of our trial population being vaccinated, none had a prior infection with the COVID-19 virus. This paves the way for additional research to explore its efficacy in those with a previous infection or those with a lower body mass index.
The metformin’s inhibitory effect on the virus was anticipated by a simulator developed jointly by the U of M Medical School and the College of Science and Engineering Biomedical Engineering faculty. This model has shown impressive precision, predicting, among other things, the inefficacy of hydroxychloroquine and the effectiveness of remdesivir prior to the release of clinical trial outcomes of these treatments.
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