Eight patients reported significant benefits, including improved memory, multitasking abilities, and organizational skills. Fesharaki-Zadeh worked with Arnsten and treated 12 patients with a combination of guanfacine and NAC. It was developed by Amy Arnsten, PhD, a Yale School of Medicine neuroscientist who researches the molecular needs of prefrontal cortical circuits.ĭr. Guanfacine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of ADHD (a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with prefrontal cortex function), and is also being tested off-label for TBI and other brain disorders. He saw some improvement in his patients’ energy and memory but decided to add a second medication, guanfacine, which is known to strengthen prefrontal cortical circuits.
Fesharaki-Zadeh wondered if N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant that is being tested for TBI, could also help the cognitive deficits associated with long COVID. Fesharaki-Zadeh recognized the symptoms as being like those of his patients with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) suffering from post-concussive syndrome (PCS).Īs he saw more patients experiencing these issues after a COVID-19 infection, Dr. These cognitive abilities are generated by a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, and Dr. His patient complained of “brain fog,” a colloquial term for significant, persistent cognitive problems, including impairments in executive functions, memory, attention regulation, and motivation. When Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh, MD, PhD, a Yale Medicine neuropsychiatrist, met his first patient experiencing lasting symptoms from COVID-19 (sometimes called long COVID) in June 2020, he had an idea.
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