SuppliedOn August 13, the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) announced over $3 million in funding for a University of Alberta clinical trial assessing the effectiveness of taurine supplements for long COVID-19 treatment.
Dr. Gavin Oudit, a cardiologist, is a professor in the U of A’s department of medicine and a clinician with the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute. He was the principal investigator on a study that suggests taurine might improve long COVID-19 symptoms.
Taurine is an amino acid that the human body naturally produces. It can be helpful in maintaining adequate hydration and potentially supporting healthy heart function. These benefits have led to the development of taurine supplements as a food additive.
Dr. Lawrence Richer, a pediatric neurologist and director of the Northern Alberta Clinical Trials and Research Center (NACTRC) will be leading the clinical trial.
Long COVID-19 affects about 10 per cent of COVID-19 patients
While active COVID-19 symptoms may last a week or two for some, for others these symptoms can persist for many months. Long COVID-19, also known as post COVID-19 condition, is when the symptoms of COVID-19 persist for more than 12 weeks after infection. This prolonged condition affects roughly 10 per cent of COVID-19 patients, according to Dr. Oudit.
Dr. Oudit said there are two main groups of symptoms associated with long COVID-19 — prominent physical limitations and neurocognitive symptoms.
The symptoms of physical limitation can include fatigue, exercise intolerance, shortness of breath, and general pain, Dr. Oudit said. Neurocognitive symptoms include anxiety, memory loss, and overall brain fog.
According to Dr. Oudit, the study showed that taurine levels in long COVID-19 patients could impact their clinical outcomes.
“If you’re able to upregulate your taurine levels, you do okay,” Dr. Oudit said. “If you’re not, and about one-third of our patients could not, you don’t do so well.”
Clinical trial will assess physical activity and neurocognitive abilities after taurine supplementation
This clinical trial is designed to investigate if taurine supplementation improves symptoms in long COVID-19 patients. The researchers aim to recruit 300 patients across medical centres in Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal.
The participants would be randomly assigned to either the taurine supplementation group or the placebo group. Over a three month period, half of the patients will receive taurine supplements. The other half will be on a placebo.
At the beginning of the study, blood samples will be collected from patients to look at baseline taurine levels and other biological markers of long COVID-19. Routine blood sample collections will be conducted throughout the study.
According to Dr. Oudit, physical activity limitations and neurocognitive abilities will also be assessed.
After three months, all participants will be assessed to determine if there are persistent benefits from taurine supplementation. To determine this, they will be monitored for an additional three months.
Long COVID-19 currently has no standardized treatment procedures, according to Dr. Oudit. If these trials are successful, taurine supplementation would really benefit “patients that have low taurine levels or that can’t increase [their] taurine levels,” Dr. Oudit said.
“There are a lot of patients out there taking taurine, so it’s important that we find evidence that it works,” Dr. Oudit said. “That’s why it’s important we do this trial.”
