FASTCOV pilot study : « Assessment of fasting induced changes in clinical and psychological semiology in LongCovid and correlation with laboratory findings

Raquel Gomez Bravo, Marta Sanchez, Paul Wilmes, Jacques Zimmer, Daniela Koppold, Andreas Michalsen, Maria Pavlou, Gilbert Massard, Mark Ritzen, Jochen Schneider, Charles Benoy

Keywords: long COVID, fasting, COVID-19, Post-COVID Condition

Background:

The SARS-CoV-2 infection usually resolves completely after the acute phase. However, between10-20% of the patients, had persistent symptoms longer than 2-3 months following a confirmed infection, known as post COVID-19 condition or long COVID (LC). Symptoms range from mild to severe, including lung and heart symptoms, but also fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, cognitive deficiencies, and depression. The physiopathology is still unclear and several hypothesis coexists. Empirical evidence and recent study reports demonstrated that fasting (i.e. caloric restriction) interventions yielded remarkable benefits with regards to various chronic diseases, metabolic syndrome and are even effective to reduce seizures in children with epilepsy. Nevertheless, in the case of LC, apart from physical therapy and rehabilitation methods, there is little evidence on successful outcome of therapeutic interventions.

Research questions:

How effective is the Buchinger-Wilhelmi fasting regimen in improving symptoms, psychometric, and biomedical parameters in patients with Long COVID?

Method:

Participants will be randomly assigned to either control or experimental group (caloric restriction: liquid calorie intake of up to 500 kcal energy during 7 days). Biological, behavioral, psychophysiological and questionnaires’ data will be collected at baseline and regularly during the intervention process and follow up using a mixed-method approach. Remote patient monitoring, as well as other eHealth solutions will be used in combination with physical visits and examinations.

Results:

The study anticipates improvements in LC symptoms, potentially leading to a new, effective treatment model for LC patients.

Conclusions:

Moreover, this research could reduce healthcare costs and absenteeism related to LC and it could also generate a clear treatment roadmap for healthcare professionals and set a foundation for research into the effects of caloric restriction on other chronic diseases.

Points for discussion:

What is the effectiveness of fasting regimens in post-viral infections or other chronic diseases?

How feasible is implementing the fasting regimen and explore strategies to ensure participant adherence to the regimen throughout the study?

How the findings from this study might influence future health policies or clinical guidelines for managing Long COVID, especially regarding dietary and lifestyle interventions?

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