Milan, Italy, where the antihistamine study took place
IMPRESSIVE FINDINGS
All of the Long Covid patients in a new study from the Univ. of Milan in Italy saw improvement in their Long Covid symptoms after taking two types of antihistamines together, according to a summary released by researchers in the Frontiers journal on July 5, 2023.
The results were most striking in patients with cardiovascular symptoms who had not found relief though other types of medications or interventions, with 29 percent seeing a complete resolution of symptoms.
Symptoms that were measured included increased heart rate, abdominal disorders, brain fog, fatigue. I was pleased to see abdominal disorders included, because they are so often left out of the Covid-19 conversation.
The full report is coming soon, but the authors, a collection of doctors and researchers from the University of Milan and associated hospitals and medical clinics, felt the findings were important enough to release ahead of time.
WHY DID THEY TEST ANTIHISTAMINES ON LONG COVID PATIENTS?
The short answer? Mast cells.
The Italian scientists designed the antihistamine study to test an already-existing hypothesis that Mast Cell Activation is causing many Long Covid symptoms.
According to the National Cancer Institute, mast cells are “a type of white blood cell that is found in connective tissues all through the body, especially under the skin, near blood vessels and lymph vessels, in nerves, and in the lungs and intestines.”
WHAT DO MAST CELLS DO?
Mast cells are part of your immune system. They control how other parts of the immune system respond, usually to bacteria and parasites. They are also involved in things like widening your blood vessels or regulating the formation of new blood vessels.
Mast cells also play a key role in allergic reactions, causing itching and swelling through the release of histamines and other inflammatory molecules.
WHY WOULD MAST CELLS BE A PROBLEM IN LONG COVID?
While the exact mechanisms of Long Covid are still unknown, we do know that people with Long Covid have ongoing damage occurring in their blood vessels.
A study of blood plasma markers in people with Long Covid, released July 10, 2023 in the Journal of Translational Medicine, concluded Long Covid is a vasculo-proliferative disease with impact on brain and heart.”
Translation: Long Covid is a disease in which, for whatever reason, the body keeps making new blood vessels. Given the relationship between mast cells and angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) it makes sense that in a vasculo-proliferative state, the body might be flooded with activated mast cells.
This could explain why so many Long Covid patients have visibly inflamed blood vessels as well as strange new allergies to foods, pets, plants and other things they tolerated just fine before they got sick.
CAN I GET THESE ANTIHISTAMINES WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION?
Yes, both of the antihistamines used in the Italian study are available over the counter, at least in the United States, where I live. One of the antihistamines was an H1 blocker, and the other an H2 blocker - which just means they each block a different type of histamine receptor.
But you should never take new medications without consulting with your doctor first. And you should never take anything in this newsletter to be medical advice.
The Italian study gave Long Covid patients fexofenadine (180 mg daily) and famotidine (40 mg daily.)