Hope for ME/CFS and long COVID: new drug combo trial launches

NCT ID NCT06366724

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

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

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

About 160 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Sep 2024

Expected to finish

Nov 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

18 to 70 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

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

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.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. 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

  • Brigham and Women's Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States

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