Harry Spoelstra: LongC0VID Still has Zero Proven Treatments
Harry Spoelstra, CardioVascular Surgeon, shared a post on X about a recent article by Maria Macarena Massip Copiz et al., published in Life, adding:
Folic Acid and Endothelial Dysfunction in COVID-19 LongC0VID still has zero proven treatments.
A new Argentinian review shows folic acid could protect blood vessels from the endothelial damage driving both severe cases and persistent symptoms, by lowering homocysteine, boosting nitric oxide, and countering the gut disruption COVID causes, Sceptical?
Same here!
But when we literally have nothing else that works, dismissing a cheap, safe vitamin without proper trials is no longer cautious, it may even be negligent, And, if there’s no added value, it certainly won’t harm you to try!
Some interesting points from this review:
- Endothelial dysfunction drives severe acute COVID-19 (inflammation, thrombosis, organ damage, ICU needs) and longC0VID/PASC symptoms,
- Homocysteine metabolism is frequently dysregulated in COVID-19 inflammation. Elevated levels correlate with higher clotting risk, severe pneumonia, ICU admission, and mortality. Severe patients often show low folate and high homocysteine,
- Folic acid (vitamin B9) lowers homocysteine, reduces oxidative stress, supports nitric oxide production (improving vasodilation and reducing inflammation/clotting), and may exert direct antiviral effects by interfering with SARSCoV2 entry/replication proteins,
- SARSCoV2 disrupts the gut microbiome, reducing natural folate production by beneficial bacteria and worsening deficiencies/inflammation,
- Evidence cited includes biomarker studies, computational/lab data on mechanisms, genetic susceptibility links, and some clinical observations where nutritional support including folic acid was associated with reduced mortality and mechanical ventilation needs,
- Supplementation is discussed as a low-cost complementary strategy for acute phase and longC0VID (with vitamin B12 also noted for LC/PASC ),
- It is not presented as a cure or standalone treatment,
- The review does call for larger, well-designed clinical trials to confirm indication, optimal dosing, efficacy, and patient subgroups.
So, Folic acid shows credible mechanistic promise as an affordable vascular shield against COVID-19’s endothelial assault, yet we still have zero proven treatments for LongC0VID.
Without urgent, large-scale trials, millions will keep suffering preventable clotting, organ damage, and chronic symptoms while a simple, cheap B-vitamin may sit underutilized.
The paper’s evidence is suggestive and certainly not definitive.
Treating this as ‘just another supplement’ or dismissing it outright risks turning a potential low-cost adjunct into yet another missed opportunity in a disease that continues attacking blood vessels long after the virus is gone.
The evidence is preliminary.
The need to test it seriously is not, anything that may help needs our attention!”
Title: Folic Acid and Endothelial Dysfunction in COVID-19
Authors: Maria Macarena Massip Copiz
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