A leading COVID-19 researcher at the University of Minnesota is spreading the word about a clinical trial for patients suffering from Long COVID.

The University of Minnesota is one of a few colleges participating in the nationwide study “Reverse LC,” to see if the FDA-approved drug Baricitinib, which has been used to treat COVID-19, can also help improve neurocognitive symptoms for people who have Long COVID.

Long COVID patient Amy Engebretson says it’s been a tough five years.

“I was a busy OB-GYN. I was taking care of pregnant patients, I was busy with my wife and daughter when the pandemic hit, and I got sick right away. And, you know, now, I spend all my time on the couch,” Engebretson said on Tuesday.

“I can’t, you know, walk, or drive, or cook, or clean, or go out for dinner. I can barely leave the house because of the fatigue.”

The brain fog, memory problems and fatigue that Engebretson described experiencing are precisely the symptoms that researchers hope the drug, Baricitinib, is able to help.

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“We just started. All the sites are just starting enrollment,” reported Dr. Carolyn Bramante of the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Bramante, an assistant professor of general internal medicine, said a leading scientist at Vanderbilt called her directly to get the University of Minnesota onboard with the nationwide study based on her previous research.

Three other universities, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center, are enrolling or plan to enroll patients soon.

“The trial is specifically enrolling individuals who had neurocognitive deficits develop after they were infected with SARS-CoV-2,” Bramante said.

Her goal is to enroll 135 people and conduct the trial in smaller “batches” over the next couple of years.

After initial questionnaires and bloodwork, selected patients will randomly get the study drug or a placebo for six months. Including follow-up visits and tests, it’s a year-long trial for patients.

“Of course, anyone is always able to stop medication or research at any time if they don’t want to continue,” Bramante said.

Asked if the drug is being viewed by physicians as a possible breakthrough for people who have been suffering from Long COVID for years, Bramante replied, “Our job is to just do the protocol, and then the results will be what they be.”

“…Either way it’s answering important questions. It might show that it works, it doesn’t work in a subgroup of individuals, and all of that very valuable knowledge… So I think, you know, this is not the only Long COVID clinical trial that will be needed. The community deserves multiple treatment options.”

Engebretson hopes to participate in the trial. She said she’s scheduled for her initial interview later this week.

“I have a lot of optimism about this one, so we’ll see,” Engrebretson said. “And for, you know, for people with Long COVID, you know, we need answers, and I want to help find them, and I want to get my life back.”

Dr. Bramante estimated it’ll take about three to four years before the results of the trial will be available.

More information on Reverse LC and the nationwide clinical trial can be found on its website.

CLICK HERE to fill out an interest form related to Long COVID research and the clinical trial at the University of Minnesota.