Hope for ME/CFS and long COVID: new drug combo trial launches
NCT ID NCT06366724
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests two drugs—pyridostigmine (Mestinon) and low-dose naltrexone (LDN)—alone or together in 160 adults with ME/CFS or Long COVID who also have orthostatic intolerance (difficulty standing). Over 3 months, participants take gradually increasing doses and complete exercise tests and questionnaires to see if the drugs improve daily function and energy. The goal is to find better treatment options for these debilitating conditions.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Pyridostigmine (Mestinon) and Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a new treatment combination to improve daily function and energy in people with ME/CFS and Long COVID.
- What could go wrong
- This is a mid-stage trial with only 160 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. Side effects from the medications could limit tolerability.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 160 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2024
- Expected to finish
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Nov 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 70 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Meet National Academy of Medicine Criteria, Canadian Consensus Criteria (See appendix), and demonstrate orthostatic intolerance for diagnosis of ME/CFS 2. Participant is ≥ 18 and ≤ 70 years of age at screening, inclusive. 3. The onset of symptoms prior to December 2023. 4. Female participant is not pregnant and at least 1 of the following conditions apply: 1. Not a woman of childbearing potential 2. Woman of childbearing potential who agrees to follow the contraceptive guidance. from the time of informed consent. 5. Participant agrees and can adhere to the study requirements for the length of the study. 6. Participant has a body mass index (BMI) range of 17 to 40 kg/m2, inclusive. 7. Participant agrees not to participate in another interventional study while participating in the present study. 8. Participant has a functioning smart phone to download and run the DANA Brain Vital Mobile Application. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. 2. Any use of opioid medications within 30 days of screening. 3. Positive urine test for opioids 4. History of alcohol, opioid or other substance misuse 5. Participation in another interventional clinical trial in the last 30 days or planned during the trial period. 6. Allergy to medication components 7. Participant has any condition which, in the investigator's opinion, makes the participant unsuitable for study participation. 8. Participant has diabetes mellitus (type 1 or 2). 9. Participant has undergone an inpatient hospitalization within the 30 days prior to the randomization or has a planned hospitalization or a surgical procedure during the study, which may affect the study assessments, in the opinion of the investigator. 10. Participant has clinically significant respiratory disease (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, severe asthma, lung infections including tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, thoracic endometriosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and lung cancers) and/or cardiac disease (medical history or current clinical findings) 11. Participant has an active malignancy or any other cancer. 12. Participant has initiated an exercise regimen within 4 weeks prior to randomization.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Brigham and Women's Hospital
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
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