Bunk the Biologist

Found an article from RTHM describing an older Long COVID study as "profound", "landmark", and "pivotal". I wasn't surprised that, when I dug in, the study was garbage. Another thinly-veiled attempt to sell overpriced supplements. Everyone with Long COVID tries CoQ10 and ALA. They are fairly harmless, inexpensive, and can purchased over the counter. I'm not saying that they're bad, or that they're unhelpful. My neurologist told me to try them, and sometimes they help with nerve issues and other things. But a couple OTC supplements aren't going to fix my friend who had to retire from the C-Suite because of their Long COVID. The study that RTHM is hyping claims that these two supplements can dramatically improve Long COVID symptoms. As you'd expect, there are numerous methodological problems and some statements that appear outright false. I would say it's only marginally better than reading Reddit posts. 1. The treatment group knew they were getting supplements. The control group knew they were getting nothing. Every single outcome they measured was subjective and self-reported. What they were actually measuring, if anything, was the placebo effect. The entire study is meaningless. 2. The groups weren't randomized. Were sicker patients more likely to want treatment? Were healthier patients more likely to decline? We don't know. 3. Way too good to be true - 53.5% response rate in the treatment group versus 3.5% in controls. That would make it the single most effective Long COVID treatment ever discovered. Trust me, we'd all know about it by now. 4. The study is crossing some major ethical lines. They tested a branded supplement (Requpero) rather than generic CoQ10/ALA. Two of the authors are from the company that makes the supplement. They acknowledge them in the paper for "production of Requpero." Yet, the conflict of interest statement says "no conflict of interest." Huh? They say no funding was received, but I doubt it. 5. In addition to the supplement, both groups were simultaneously trying many other treatments, including analgesics, NSAIDs, duloxetine, pregabalin, gabapentin, psychological counseling, physiotherapy, and yoga/pilates. We have no idea how this affected the results, it at all. We deserve better.

I want to sincerely apologize to all the girls in my life who complained about their anemia whilst I dismissed their complaints This shit is no joke Frantically calling every doctor I know to get an IV iron infusion next week cause it’s legit impossible to get anything done