Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38934345›Full record

ArticleNeuropsychopharmacology reports2024

Successful treatment with guanfacine in a long-COVID case manifesting marked cognitive impairment.

Tsuyoshi Kondo, Riki Higa, Mariko Kuniba, Hotaka Shinzato, Yoshikazu Takaesu

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Neuropsychopharmacology reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Tsuyoshi KondoDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-8592-6288
Riki HigaDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
Mariko KunibaDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
Hotaka ShinzatoDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-0354-1801
Yoshikazu TakaesuDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-9169-3249

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPersistent cognitive impairment is a serious consequence of the post-COVID condition. However, there have been no established effective treatments for this pathophysiology supported by sufficient evidence. CASE PRESENTATION: A 32-year-old woman became aware of difficulty in word recalling, reading, and writing as well as difficulty in completing various household multitasks 3 weeks after the COVID-19 infection. Although blood tests, magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography, and Kohs block design test were all within normal limits, completion time by trail making test (TMT) A or B was markedly delayed. Finally, she was referred to our hospital 3 months after the infection. At baseline, the THINC integrated tool (THINC-it), a digital battery consisting of the five-item version of the perceived deficit questionnaire (PDQ-5), choice reaction time (CRT), 1-back test, digit symbol substitution test (DSST), and TMT-B, revealed poor capability in attention, working memory, and executive function. Also, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) demonstrated no activation in frontal or temporal regions during verbal fluency task. Extended-release guanfacine (GXR) 2 mg/day was initiated and a month later was elevated up to 4 mg/day as a maintenance dose. The PDQ-5, CRT, 1-back test, DSST, and TMT-B were dramatically improved 1 month after GXR treatment. NIRS finding was also normalized after 2 months of treatment. These effects were successfully maintained throughout the 6-month follow-up period.

conclusionGXR may be helpful in improving subjective/objective cognitive functioning and frontotemporal brain activity in long-COVID patients manifesting apparent cognitive impairment.

Indexed as

Cognitive DysfunctionCOVID-19GuanfacineAdrenergic alpha-2 Receptor AgonistsAdultCOVID-19 Drug TreatmentFemaleHumansNeuropsychological TestsPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeSARS-CoV-2Treatment OutcomeAdrenergic alpha-2 Receptor AgonistsGuanfacinecognitive impairmentguanfacinelong COVIDnear‐infrared spectroscopyTHINC integrated tool

Identifiers

PMID38934345
PMCPMC11544435

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.