John Morales, Author at PPM Healthcare

November 27, 2022

Historic Industry Size & Analysis of 15 Vendors and 7 Countries

NEW YORK, Nov. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The fresh pet food market size in US is forecast to increase by USD 11177.6 million from 2022 to 2027, at a CAGR of 23.71{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc}, according to the recent market study by Technavio. The growth of the market will be driven by the expansions of fresh pet food vendors, increasing focus on promoting fresh pet foods in US, and the rising demand for human-grade fresh pet foods.

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled US Fresh Pet Food Market 2023-2027

Technavio categorizes the fresh pet food market in US as a part of the packaged foods and meats market, which covers manufacturers or food processing vendors that are involved in food processing to eliminate microorganisms and extend shelf life.

Charts & data tables about market and segment sizes for a historic period of five (2017-2021) years have been covered in this report. Download The Sample Report

Technavio has extensively analyzed 15 major vendors, including Arrow Reliance Inc., Artemis Pet Food Co., Carnivore Meat Co. LLC, Cooking4Canines, Fromm Family Foods LLC, Great American Dog Food Co., Havegard Farm Inc., JustFoodForDogs LLC, Mars Inc., My Perfect Pet Food Inc., NomNomNow Inc., Pauls Custom Pet Food LLC, Primal Pet Foods Inc., Rabbit Hole Hay Inc., and Raised Right Pets LP.

Key Benefits for Industry Players & Stakeholders –

The report offers information on the criticality of vendor inputs, including R&D, CAPEX, and technology.
It also provides detailed analyses of the market’s competitive landscape and vendors’ product offerings.
The report also provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis of vendors to help clients understand the wider business environment as well as the strengths and weaknesses of key market players. Data is qualitatively analyzed to categorize vendors as pure play, category-focused, industry-focused, and diversified; it is quantitatively analyzed to categorize vendors as dominant, leading, strong, tentative, and weak.

Expand operations in the future – To get requisite details, ask for a custom report.

Customer Landscape – Analysis of Price Sensitivity, Adoption Lifecycle, Customer Purchase Basket, Adoption Rates, and Purchase Criteria by Technavio

One of the core components of the customer landscape is price sensitivity, an analysis of which will help companies refine marketing strategies to gain a competitive advantage.
Another key aspect is price sensitivity drivers (purchases are undifferentiated, purchase is a key cost to buyers, and quality is not important), which range between LOW and HIGH.
Furthermore, market adoption rates for all regions have been covered.

Download the sample to get a holistic overview of the fresh pet food market in US by industry experts to evaluate and develop growth strategies.

The market is segmented by distribution channel (offline and online), product (dog food, cat food, and others), and material (fish, meat, vegetable, and others).

Segmentation by distribution channel (Inclusion/Exclusion)

The offline segment grew gradually by USD XXX million between 2017 and 2021. The offline distribution channel segment includes supermarkets and hypermarkets; pet specialty stores, pet clubs, and vet clinics; and convenience stores. These stores offer a wide collection of fresh pet foods from different brands and provide pet owners with a convenient option to select the required fresh pet food from various brands. They also provide opportunities for vendors to make in-store promotions of their fresh pet foods, which will help them attract more customers. Besides, the rising number of vet clinics and pet clubs are increasing the awareness of healthy pet food options such as fresh pet foods among consumers. All these factors are contributing to the growth of the offline distribution channel segment.

To get detailed insights about inclusions and exclusions, buy report!

Related Reports –

Frozen and Freeze Dried Pet Food Market by Distribution Channel and Geography – Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 – size is estimated to increase by USD 2.06 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market’s growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 10.41{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc}, according to the recent market study by Technavio. Furthermore, this report extensively covers market segmentations by distribution channel (offline and online) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA).
Pet Food Market in Russia by Product and Type – Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 – size is estimated to increase by USD 1.41 billion by 2026 with a progressing CAGR of 6.24{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc}, according to the recent market study by Technavio. The rising awareness of pet nutrition is one of the key factors driving the market growth.

What are the key data covered in fresh pet food market in US?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period
Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the fresh pet food market in US between 2022 and 2027
Precise estimation of the size of the fresh pet food market in US and its contribution to the parent market
Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior
Thorough analysis of the market’s competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors
Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of fresh pet food market vendors in US

Fresh Pet Food Market in US Scope
Report Coverage	Details
Page number	134
Base year	2022
Historical year	2017-2021
Forecast period	2023-2027
Growth momentum & CAGR	Accelerate at a CAGR of 23.71{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc}
Market growth 2023-2027	USD 11177.6 million
Market structure	Fragmented
YoY growth ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})	21.23
Competitive landscape	Leading companies, Competitive Strategies, Consumer engagement scope
Key companies profiled	Arrow Reliance Inc., Artemis Pet Food Co., Carnivore Meat Co. LLC, Cooking4Canines, Fromm Family Foods LLC, Great American Dog Food Co., Havegard Farm Inc., JustFoodForDogs LLC, Mars Inc., My Perfect Pet Food Inc., NomNomNow Inc., Pauls Custom Pet Food LLC, Primal Pet Foods Inc., Rabbit Hole Hay Inc., and Raised Right Pets LP.
Market dynamics	Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and market condition analysis for the forecast period.
Customization purview	If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of contents:

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary – Chart on Market Overview
Exhibit 02: Executive Summary – Data Table on Market Overview
Exhibit 03: Executive Summary – Chart on Country Market Characteristics
Exhibit 04: Executive Summary – Chart on Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel
Exhibit 05: Executive Summary – Chart on Market Segmentation by Product
Exhibit 06: Executive Summary – Chart on Market Segmentation by Material
Exhibit 07: Executive Summary – Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 08: Parent market
Exhibit 09: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 10: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 11: Market segments

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

Exhibit 12: Chart on US – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 13: Data Table on US – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 14: Chart on US: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 15: Data Table on US: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

4 Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 16: Five forces analysis – Comparison between 2022 and 2027

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 17: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers – Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 18: Bargaining power of suppliers – Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 19: Threat of new entrants – Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 20: Threat of substitutes – Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 21: Threat of rivalry – Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 22: Chart on Market condition – Five forces 2022 and 2027

5 Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 23: Chart on Distribution Channel – Market share 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 24: Data Table on Distribution Channel – Market share 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

5.2 Comparison by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 25: Chart on Comparison by Distribution Channel
Exhibit 26: Data Table on Comparison by Distribution Channel

5.3 Offline – Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 27: Chart on Offline – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 28: Data Table on Offline – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 29: Chart on Offline – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 30: Data Table on Offline – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

5.4 Online – Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 31: Chart on Online – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 32: Data Table on Online – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 33: Chart on Online – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 34: Data Table on Online – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

5.5 Market opportunity by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 35: Market opportunity by Distribution Channel ($ million)

6 Market Segmentation by Product

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 36: Chart on Product – Market share 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 37: Data Table on Product – Market share 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

6.2 Comparison by Product

Exhibit 38: Chart on Comparison by Product
Exhibit 39: Data Table on Comparison by Product

6.3 Dog food – Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 40: Chart on Dog food – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 41: Data Table on Dog food – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 42: Chart on Dog food – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 43: Data Table on Dog food – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

6.4 Cat food – Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 44: Chart on Cat food – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 45: Data Table on Cat food – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 46: Chart on Cat food – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 47: Data Table on Cat food – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

6.5 Others – Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 48: Chart on Others – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 49: Data Table on Others – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 50: Chart on Others – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 51: Data Table on Others – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

6.6 Market opportunity by Product

Exhibit 52: Market opportunity by Product ($ million)

7 Market Segmentation by Material

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 53: Chart on Material – Market share 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 54: Data Table on Material – Market share 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

7.2 Comparison by Material

Exhibit 55: Chart on Comparison by Material
Exhibit 56: Data Table on Comparison by Material

7.3 Fish – Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 57: Chart on Fish – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 58: Data Table on Fish – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 59: Chart on Fish – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 60: Data Table on Fish – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

7.4 Meat – Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 61: Chart on Meat – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 62: Data Table on Meat – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 63: Chart on Meat – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 64: Data Table on Meat – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

7.5 Vegetable – Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 65: Chart on Vegetable – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 66: Data Table on Vegetable – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 67: Chart on Vegetable – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 68: Data Table on Vegetable – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

7.6 Others – Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 69: Chart on Others – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 70: Data Table on Others – Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)
Exhibit 71: Chart on Others – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})
Exhibit 72: Data Table on Others – Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 ({35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc})

7.7 Market opportunity by Material

Exhibit 73: Market opportunity by Material ($ million)

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 74: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

9.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 75: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027

10 Vendor Landscape

10.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 76: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

10.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 77: Overview on factors of disruption

10.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 78: Impact of key risks on business

11 Vendor Analysis

11.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 79: Vendors covered

11.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 80: Matrix on vendor position and classification

11.3 Arrow Reliance Inc.

Exhibit 81: Arrow Reliance Inc. – Overview
Exhibit 82: Arrow Reliance Inc. – Product / Service
Exhibit 83: Arrow Reliance Inc. – Key offerings

11.4 Artemis Pet Food Co.

Exhibit 84: Artemis Pet Food Co. – Overview
Exhibit 85: Artemis Pet Food Co. – Product / Service
Exhibit 86: Artemis Pet Food Co. – Key offerings

11.5 Carnivore Meat Co. LLC

Exhibit 87: Carnivore Meat Co. LLC – Overview
Exhibit 88: Carnivore Meat Co. LLC – Product / Service
Exhibit 89: Carnivore Meat Co. LLC – Key offerings

11.6 Cooking4Canines

Exhibit 90: Cooking4Canines – Overview
Exhibit 91: Cooking4Canines – Product / Service
Exhibit 92: Cooking4Canines – Key offerings

11.7 Freshpet Inc.

Exhibit 93: Freshpet Inc. – Overview
Exhibit 94: Freshpet Inc. – Product / Service
Exhibit 95: Freshpet Inc. – Key offerings

11.8 Great American Dog Food Co.

Exhibit 96: Great American Dog Food Co. – Overview
Exhibit 97: Great American Dog Food Co. – Product / Service
Exhibit 98: Great American Dog Food Co. – Key offerings

11.9 Havegard Farm Inc.

Exhibit 99: Havegard Farm Inc. – Overview
Exhibit 100: Havegard Farm Inc. – Product / Service
Exhibit 101: Havegard Farm Inc. – Key offerings

11.10 JustFoodForDogs LLC

Exhibit 102: JustFoodForDogs LLC – Overview
Exhibit 103: JustFoodForDogs LLC – Product / Service
Exhibit 104: JustFoodForDogs LLC – Key offerings

11.11 My Perfect Pet Food Inc.

Exhibit 105: My Perfect Pet Food Inc. – Overview
Exhibit 106: My Perfect Pet Food Inc. – Product / Service
Exhibit 107: My Perfect Pet Food Inc. – Key offerings

11.12 NomNomNow Inc.

Exhibit 108: NomNomNow Inc. – Overview
Exhibit 109: NomNomNow Inc. – Product / Service
Exhibit 110: NomNomNow Inc. – Key offerings

11.13 Pauls Custom Pet Food LLC

Exhibit 111: Pauls Custom Pet Food LLC – Overview
Exhibit 112: Pauls Custom Pet Food LLC – Product / Service
Exhibit 113: Pauls Custom Pet Food LLC – Key offerings

11.14 Primal Pet Foods Inc.

Exhibit 114: Primal Pet Foods Inc. – Overview
Exhibit 115: Primal Pet Foods Inc. – Product / Service
Exhibit 116: Primal Pet Foods Inc. – Key offerings

11.15 Rabbit Hole Hay Inc.

Exhibit 117: Rabbit Hole Hay Inc. – Overview
Exhibit 118: Rabbit Hole Hay Inc. – Product / Service
Exhibit 119: Rabbit Hole Hay Inc. – Key offerings

11.16 The Farmers Dog Inc.

Exhibit 120: The Farmers Dog Inc. – Overview
Exhibit 121: The Farmers Dog Inc. – Product / Service
Exhibit 122: The Farmers Dog Inc. – Key offerings

11.17 Whitebridge Pet Brands LLC

Exhibit 123: Whitebridge Pet Brands LLC – Overview
Exhibit 124: Whitebridge Pet Brands LLC – Product / Service
Exhibit 125: Whitebridge Pet Brands LLC – Key offerings

12 Appendix

12.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 126: Inclusions checklist
Exhibit 127: Exclusions checklist

12.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 128: Currency conversion rates for US$

12.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 129: Research methodology
Exhibit 130: Validation techniques employed for market sizing
Exhibit 131: Information sources

12.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 132: List of abbreviations

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Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio’s report library Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio’s comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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SOURCE Technavio

November 27, 2022

Virtual reality apps focus on mental health care, but effectiveness is unstudied

Right after his father died of Covid very last tumble, Donkan Martinez was overcome by grief and turned to an not likely outlet: digital actuality.

The 24-12 months-outdated observed himself wading into an rising discipline of digital mental wellbeing care, via a support termed Innerworld, which presents peer-led psychological overall health assistance via its application. The concept is to carry the ideas of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, into the metaverse and empower buyers to interact with many others as nameless avatars by means of voice- and textual content-centered chat.

CBT aims to aid clients alter harmful imagining or behavioral patterns by creating pertinent techniques and coping procedures. The American Psychological Association describes it as a type of remedy that can help people “learn to be their personal therapists.”

Innerworld, however, presents day to day buyers the option to supply assist to just one another. Its founder, Noah Robinson, emphasizes that the service must not substitute specialist remedy. Upon registering, Innerworld buyers should admit that they have an understanding of the app is not treatment.

“It’s not treatment and we can not deliver disaster intervention,” Robinson stated. “Our target with Innerworld is to be a for a longer period-time period location that people today can appear to assist them stop themselves from finding to the point of being in crisis. Or we have people today who are hospitalized who occur out and are seeking for supplemental help.”

On moving into Innerworld, consumers can choose from a variety of configurations that emulate environments like hiking trails or libraries. From there, they can have interaction with other avatars or search a list of peer-led events, this kind of as team meditation classes, habit help teams and workshops on navigating social stress. Martinez claimed that when, he joined a video game in which buyers guessed what many others have been drawing.

The efficacy of Innerworld’s tactic is unstudied, so collecting prolonged-phrase facts is crucial to analyzing this or any identical method, explained Barbara Rothbaum, a psychologist at the Emory College Faculty of Medication. Rothbaum released a paper on the use of VR to handle a panic of heights in 1995.

“As considerably as digital fact, most of the apps now have made use of a authentic therapist,” she claimed.

In fact, most therapeutic utilizes of VR so considerably have centered on clinician-led exposure treatment for conditions like arachnophobia and claustrophobia, as perfectly as for social anxiousness and post-traumatic worry dysfunction.

Having said that, Rothbaum additional, “I do imagine [VR] could be handy for self-aid, but the courses that have been examined have not been produced for that.”

Skip Rizzo, director of professional medical virtual truth at the University of Southern California Institute for Inventive Systems, stated he very first regarded VR’s likely for mental well being makes use of in the 1990s. Rizzo served pioneer the use of VR to address PTSD among customers of the armed forces. A 2005 report documented the scenario of a Vietnam war veteran treated with VR treatment who professional a 34{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} decrease in clinician-rated PTSD.

Rizzo said he sees the potential of Innerworld — as long as the application carries on to make distinct that it is not clinician-operate.

“People that are worried about stigma all-around regardless of what the difficulty is that they have, or they’re ashamed, they may well not want to confess to a further person immediately that they’re acquiring these challenges,” Rizzo explained. “But they may possibly be far more very likely to in an avatar-dependent earth wherever they can preserve their anonymity but still interact with folks.”

Martinez said he and other end users he is fulfilled on Innerworld felt they weren’t getting the empathy they required in the true environment.

“My real pals really don’t know that I’m really psychological. I’m extremely conservative with my thoughts with my actual mates,” he said. “I’m equipped to open up up in Innerworld for the reason that I know I’m not going to be judged. I’m not likely to be attacked.”

Robinson reported he was motivated to produce Innerworld following locating solace in an on the internet community in his have everyday living. When he was 13, he claimed, he turned depressed soon after acknowledging he was gay, and he turned to the online match RuneScape. The anonymity manufactured him additional comfortable checking out parts of himself he was frightened to confront in the authentic globe. Robinson explained he finally arrived out to his online close friends.

Innerworld is not the only software attempting to use VR to assistance men and women entry mental well being help.

In his individual operate, Rizzo is piloting a clinician-facilitated VR job that presents social aid to Ukrainian refugees. Refugees who have relocated to Bucharest, Romania, can enter a digital model of a town square in Kyiv, where by they can converse with fellow refugees as nameless avatars.

A startup termed BehaVR, in the meantime, introduced its app, referred to as Initial Vacation resort, last week. The VR app guides people as a result of “chapters” on techniques that would be taught in CBT periods.

Risa Weisberg, a professor at the Boston College Chobanian and Avedisian University of Medication, is BehaVR’s main scientific officer. She said that mainly because people’s brains approach VR ordeals in the identical way they would a real-existence encounter, “you really do not expertise the interventions as some thing that you are studying or listening to you encounter them as something which is going on to you.”

Weisberg thinks that is why VR exposure treatment has yielded final results in the past.

VR’s get to could expand to 64 million men and women in the U.S. this 12 months, according to a 2021 estimate by eMarketer. Weisberg reported that expansion is occurring at a time when a lot more folks are trying to find mental health treatment, but also as quite a few are obtaining it inaccessible due to high costs.

“All that will come with each other at the very same time to make the up coming several a long time really ripe for receiving psychological well being procedures and interventions in VR,” she said. “I consider we’re heading to see a enormous uptick in this.”

Rizzo said his principal worry about Innerworld, on the other hand, is that folks who need expert help may possibly try to substitute the app as an alternative. Rothbaum, meanwhile, reported a great deal a lot more investigate is wanted to establish irrespective of whether these types of programs truly function. Ideally, she claimed, there must be clinical experiments with control teams that track users’ results.

November 27, 2022

Sideline report details Michigan RB health against Ohio State

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Michigan star running back again Blake Corum carried the football two times in the 1st quarter for 6 yards Saturday from Ohio State before he went to the side sidelines on the 2nd possession, favoring his knee. J.J. Stokes entered the activity for Corum on Michigan’s next possession.

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“I had the possibility to discuss to James Corum, Blake’s father, last night and he claimed that Blake would want to engage in in this game and would,” Fox Sports’ Tom Rinaldi said during the broadcast. “He’d verify with doctors within just this method and beyond that he would not put up with any more accidents if he was able to go. But the stress about that explosion, that lateral motion, you can see the disappointment on Blake Corum. You know no a person needs to be in this activity extra than him.”

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Corum’s injury was a sizzling subject moving into the rivalry matchup this 7 days, but the Wolverines star functioning back ran out with the to start with-workforce versus the Buckeyes. The Heisman Trophy candidate wounded his knee last 7 days in Michigan’s 19-17 acquire about Illinois.

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“Michigan star tailback Blake Corum is predicted to try to enjoy versus Ohio Point out on Saturday, resources explained to ESPN, as an air of ambiguity hangs in excess of his likely performance simply because of a knee injuries,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel wrote this week. “Resources stated Corum is just not expected to be 100{35112b74ca1a6bc4decb6697edde3f9edcc1b44915f2ccb9995df8df6b4364bc} in the wake of the damage, and the variety of carries he will receive and his normal performance when he does get the ball are concerns lingering around his return. The Michigan employees is expected to monitor Corum intently in warm-ups, but the anticipation is that he will engage in and see how he can tackle the ache. Corum instructed regional media in Michigan this 7 days that he is ‘good’ although handing out turkeys to neighborhood households in require.”

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Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said Corum’s knee was “structurally excellent, which is fantastic news” prior to likely to yet another concern in the aftermath of the Wolverines’ close to whiff in opposition to the Fighting Illini. Harbaugh included that Corum only played two snaps due to the fact he was cleared to enjoy but “it was bothering him,” according to The Michigan Insider. He enters the Ohio Condition clash with 1,457 dashing yards and 18 touchdowns on 245 tries.

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The winner of Saturday’s game clinches the Huge Ten East.

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Subscribe to 247Athletics YouTube for the most recent school football, basketball and recruiting information together with live faculty commitments.

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Posted on November 27, 2022
The biggest risks of using fitness trackers to monitor health

Physical fitness trackers, which help maintain tabs on snooze top quality, heart rate and other biological metrics, are a popular way to support Americans enhance their health and fitness and effectively-becoming.

There are quite a few styles of trackers on the market place, such as those from perfectly-regarded manufacturers this sort of as Apple, Fitbit, Garmin and Oura. When these equipment are rising in popularity — and have legitimate utilizes — customers don’t usually recognize the extent to which their information could be offered to or intercepted by 3rd events. This is especially crucial for the reason that individuals can’t basically adjust their DNA sequencing or heart rhythms as they could a credit card or bank account selection.

“As soon as the toothpaste is out of the tube, you are unable to get it back,” stated Steve Grobman, senior vice president and main know-how officer of computer system safety firm McAfee.

The holiday getaway season is a common time to invest in consumer wellbeing equipment. This is what you need to know about the protection risks tied to physical fitness trackers and personalized wellbeing data.

Adhere to a name model, even while they are hacked

Fitness gadgets can be expensive, even without having taking inflation into account, but never be tempted to skimp on stability to preserve a several dollars. Whilst a significantly less-known firm may offer more bells and whistles at a greater cost, a effectively-established company that is breached is much more possible to care about its name and do points to support shoppers, mentioned Kevin Roundy, senior technical director at cybersecurity corporation Gen Electronic.

To be certain, knowledge compromise difficulties, from prison hacks to unintended sharing of sensitive user details, can — and have — hit nicely-acknowledged players, which include Fitbit, which Google bought in 2021, and Strava. But even so, security professionals say it can be much better to invest in from a reputable maker that appreciates how to style and design safe equipment and has a name to upkeep.

“A more compact business may just go bankrupt,” Roundy said.

Fitness application info is not safeguarded like well being info

There can be other problems over and above possessing a person’s delicate info exposed in a details breach. For example, health and fitness trackers commonly join to a user’s cellphone by using Bluetooth, leaving own facts prone to hacking.

What’s much more, the information and facts that fitness trackers obtain isn’t really viewed as “wellbeing info” less than the federal HIPAA conventional or condition rules like California’s Confidentiality of Medical Facts Act. This signifies that personally revealing knowledge can possibly be utilized in ways a customer could possibly by no means hope. For occasion, the personalized details could be shared with or sold to third events these kinds of as details brokers or legislation enforcement, stated Emory Roane, coverage counsel at Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a buyer privateness, advocacy and training organization.

Some physical fitness trackers may use consumers’ well being and wellness information to derive revenue from ads, so if that’s a problem, you can want to make confident you can find a way to opt out. Evaluate the provider’s terms of assistance to fully grasp the its policies right before you obtain the health and fitness tracker, Roundy mentioned.

Default social, location options could need to be improved

A health and fitness tracker’s default options may possibly not offer the most stringent stability controls. To improve defense, look at what configurations can be adjusted, these as those connected to social networking, spot and other sharable information, claimed Dan Demeter, stability researcher at cybersecurity provider Kaspersky Lab.

Dependent on the point out, customers can also opt out of the sale or sharing of their private information to third functions, and in some instances, these rights are remaining expanded, according to Roane.

Certainly, gadget customers should really be very careful about what they submit publicly about their locale and actions, or what they allow for to turn out to be general public by default. This knowledge could be searchable on the internet and utilized by bad actors. Even if they usually are not acting maliciously, 3rd events this sort of as insurers and employers could get accessibility to this kind of general public information.

“Users hope their info to be their knowledge and use it how they want it to be applied,” Roane claimed, but that’s not automatically the situation.

“It really is not only about present details, but also about past information,” Demeter said. For occasion, a undesirable actor could see all the times the person goes managing — what days and hours — and wherever, and use it to their edge.

There are also a range of electronic cons in which criminals can use facts about your location to make an option feel additional plausible. They can declare factors like, “I know you lost your wallet at so and so location, which lends reliability to the scammer’s story,” Grobman explained.

Locale facts can demonstrate problematic in other methods as effectively. Roane features the case in point of a women of all ages trying to find reproductive well being treatment in a condition in which abortion is unlawful. A physical fitness tracker with geolocation products and services enabled could gather info that could be subpoenaed by regulation enforcement or be purchased by facts brokers and sold to legislation enforcement, he explained.

Use potent password, two-issue authentication, and in no way share qualifications

Be guaranteed to protected your account by applying a strong password that you will not use with another account and enabling two-factor authentication for the connected application. And you should not share credentials. That’s by no means a excellent idea, but it can have particularly devastating repercussions in specified instances. For instance, a domestic violence sufferer could be tracked by her abuser, assuming he had obtain to her account credentials, Roane mentioned.

Also be certain to continue to keep the machine and the app up-to-day with stability fixes.

Although practically nothing is comprehensive-evidence, the goal is to be as protected as feasible. “If anyone tries to profit from our particular data, we just make their lives more durable so it is not that uncomplicated to hack us,” Demeter claimed.

Posted on November 26, 2022
I Tried the Psychedelic Anti-Addiction Drug

The author in the ibogaine clinic bed; the iboga plant. Photo: courtesy of author and Chor Boogie

A needle connected to an IV drip pierces one of my veins, a band strapped around my left bicep monitors my heart rate, and a clip on my right index finger also tracks my pulse as I lie on a hospital bed in a sterile clinic at 9AM. It sounds like I’m about to undergo surgery. I have, in fact, swallowed nine capsules containing ibogaine, a psychedelic compound extracted from a Gabonese root bark used in coming-of-age rituals that often feature intense visions as part of vivid, sometimes autobiographical, all-night visions.

Soon the trip starts: images of the solar system punctuated by clips of my younger self laughing, then a bizarre internal reel made up of Jesus Christ, an alien and an image of a bush – seemingly the one from which the medicine derived. These eventually give way to a pounding narrative of negative thoughts known as a “mind-purge”.

After more than 12 hours in the clinic bed – of which six fly by in a flash – I am unhooked from the machinery and the headphones that have been emitting an obscure mix of African music, Pink Floyd and European techno. I stay awake all night in a rolling state of bliss and gratitude as the tears flow.

Most people come to Beond, an ibogaine clinic based out of a mansion in Cancun, Mexico, to get off drugs, including prescribed opioid painkillers, heroin, fentanyl and meth. I have been invited here by the owner after I expressed disbelief that ibogaine could immediately eliminate drug withdrawal symptoms.

“I have treated more than 2,000 patients with ibogaine over 17 years and the relapse rate is about 50 percent in the long term, but around 85 percent of people leave the clinic without withdrawals and cravings,” Dr Felipe Malacara MD, the chief clinical operations director, says.

In my eight days in Cancun, I witness people who claim to have been previously dependent on drugs enjoying astonishingly swift uplifts in their fortunes. Michael, from the US, underwent his trip at the same time as me. Until he arrived at the clinic, the 33-year-old, who did not want his surname made public, told me he had been regularly injecting copious amounts of fentanyl, as well as taking crystal meth and benzos. I’d previously only exchanged a few words with him – that was the extent of his anxiety and withdrawal symptoms, despite receiving substantial doses of morphine.

But the day after our treatments Michael is doing yoga, smiling and chatting with no visible withdrawal symptoms. He had undergone rehab at dozens of other facilities previously without losing the desire for drugs. “The light is back in my eyes,” he remarks. “I came in completely closed off and isolated.”

Ibogaine seems to swiftly reset the neural pathways in the brain like no other psychedelic through the process of (sometimes distressing) trips that can last as long as 36 hours. This may play a role in eliminating the drug cravings that develop within people over time. This same “resetting” has also led many US veterans to claim they have successfully treated their PTSD with the drug. Others, like me, work with it for psycho-spiritual purposes.

Another American patient I met, Richard, told me he had taken heavy doses of opioids every day for 10 years after becoming dependent at a hospital following surgery. “It caused me to lose jobs and some of my closest friends, and to nearly lose my wife,” he says.

He too was soon free of debilitating cravings – with just weirdly incessant yawning and mild anxiety persisting for a few days after his trip. “A small price to pay for ending a decade of opiate dependence,” he says. The 60-year-old joked and giggled as he received a pedicure days after his ibogaine trip. The next day he enjoyed a blissful aguahara session, where participants are cradled in a pool. It seemed to me unimaginable either Michael or Richard would have engaged with such activities prior to their treatment.

The idea of effectively undergoing ten years of therapy in one night, promulgated by writer Daniel Pinchbeck – author of Breaking Open the Head – seems almost too good to be true, but positive anecdotal reports are mounting.

“Ibogaine is not a magic bullet, but it can spell the beginning of a process of healing,” says Malacara. “But then it is down to the patients, they have to be willing to change their environment and lifestyle back home.”

It was in 1962 that ibogaine’s unique anti-addiction effects were discovered, by 19-year-old Howard Lotsof who was at the time dependent on heroin and experimenting with other drugs. At the suggestion of a chemist he knew, he consumed ibogaine. “Suddenly, I realised that I was not in heroin withdrawal,” he later said. “Where previously I had viewed heroin as a drug which gave me comfort, I now viewed heroin as a drug which emulated death. The very next thought into my mind was, ‘I prefer life to death.’”

Despite the compelling tales of addiction recovery, films detailing swift recovery from serious addiction (including one broadcast on the BBC), scientific studies and observational trials, the pharmaceutical industry has shown little interest in supporting the high-quality research that could bring the drug to the mainstream. Notably, however, the medicine has been legal in New Zealand since 2009 after authorities acknowledged it is “reported to alleviate the symptoms of opiate withdrawal”.

As I sit in the clinic recovering from my trip, I begin reading one of the books on the coffee table, Heart Medicine: A True Love Story – One Couple’s Quest for the Sacred Iboga Medicine & the Cure for Addiction. It’s written by Elizabeth Bast, whose artist husband Chor Boogie had relapsed into heroin and alcohol use after a period sober following long-term dependency.

Their story culminates in a ceremony in Costa Rica where the couple consumed iboga – the powerful plant from which ibogaine derives, and which is generally considered stronger. I race through it like no other book in years.

The author with Chor Boogie at the retreat centre. Photo: Patrick Fishley

I message Bast a week later to thank her and express how the book helped me process my psychedelic experience. She says that since going to Gabon more than a decade ago to train in the Indigenous tradition of the Babongo people, the discoverers and primary custodians of the medicine, she and Boogie now hold retreats themselves. She invites me to one to experience the effects of the raw, unprocessed plant, and I accept.

Soon enough, I am at their SoulCentro retreat centre in Costa Rica eating a horrific tasting mixture of the iboga root bark with honey. As incessantly uptempo tribal music blares from the speaker – it is said by Gabonese people that the beat of the bongos helps rewire the brain – Boogie takes me on a so-called soul journey that results in a conversation and hug with my late aunt, but then degenerates into a severe state of frustration and paranoia. It seems these deep-seated feelings are what I need to purge in order to be happier.

“Iboga can connect people with their souls and dead relatives,” the renowned spray paint artist tells me. “It takes you to the point where you’re literally getting answers to your life. Iboga wakes people up from the Matrix, it’s like taking the red pill. I never looked back after my first time and haven’t consumed alcohol, done drugs or even drank coffee since.”

The long term success of therapy with ibogaine and iboga in overcoming drug dependency ranges from about 50–75 percent, and depends on the quality of after care and integration, plus the number of trips undertaken. This compares to about 10 percent through the traditional avenues for addiction.

Fletcher Burdick visited SoulCentro a year ago to consume iboga in an effort to overcome his heroin addiction, which developed from his taking prescription opioids as a 17-year-old. Over a 15-year period, he – like Boogie – had tried everything from a whole host of psychedelic drugs like DMT and mescaline, various types of rehab and different kinds of detoxes to overcome his debilitating dependency.

He tells me he had always been trying to drown out something within himself – to avoid facing reality – ever since his parents’ acrimonious divorce when he was a young child. “I was deteriorating from the inside out,” Burdick says. “I feared death. I had become so out of touch with myself that it was no longer manageable. I was 120 pounds, my skin was grey, my eyes were cloudy, and it was just a miserable, lonely place to be in.”

Burdick, from California, recalls that iboga induced a vision which allowed him to look inside himself and witness “the pure chaos, anxiety and darkness” that lived tightly wound inside of him. “Then, the medicine carried out a total mental detox of my brain and decluttered it all,” he says. For the first time, I felt peaceful and calm.” A year later, after rigorous integration work and structured support, he remains sober and is happier than ever.

Chor Boogie’s ibogaine altar in Costa Rica. Photo: courtesy of Chor Boogie

He is just one of a growing number of Americans turning to this lesser-known psychedelic in an attempt to come off of opiates as the country’s deadly overdose crisis worsens. More than 100,000 Americans died from overdoses last year, mostly having used synthetic opioids. However, both iboga and ibogaine remain classified as Schedule I controlled substances in the US, alongside heroin and ecstasy.

Both iboga and ibogaine pose significant clinical risks and some have died following their use, mostly due to cardiac arrhythmia – though this has often been down to poor facilitation, failure to conduct the precautionary health checks or to ensure proper detoxing from drugs. That makes comprehensive pre-trip screening crucial, and people must be monitored throughout.

“Ibogaine, in its pure chemical form or as a constituent of iboga, has clinically significant effects on physical dependence on opioids and craving for substances of abuse,” says Kenneth Alper MD, an associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at NYU School of Medicine and the author of widely cited papers on ibogaine for leading scientific journals.

“But it doesn’t act like mainstay conventional treatments such as methadone or buprenorphine, which act by substituting for opioids – ibogaine’s mechanism of action is unknown, which is what is so interesting about it. In my opinion it’s the most compelling pharmacological paradigm of my generation.” People who have undergone trips with the psychedelic typically view recovery in spiritual terms, he adds: “They invoke God or a higher power.”

Ibogaine and iboga have yet to undergo rigorous scientific testing, partly because both are still illegal in the US. As Alper points out, how they work to undo dependency also remains unknown, though an ibogaine fMRI study at Stanford University is currently in its final stages after imaging the brain under the influence of the drug for the first time in a trial.

“It may take some time to fully understand what ibogaine may offer towards the investigation of the neurobiology of addiction and the development of new treatment,” acknowledges Alper.

He remains skeptical over whether such treatments could be rolled out properly on a mass scale, in part due to the nature of the healthcare system. “I would be concerned about using it on a large scale, simply because to do ibogaine treatments well and safely requires a lot of screening, monitoring and knowledge,” Alper says. “I’m not so sure that this can be done widely without compromising.”

Funnily enough, I actually did have a vision of Christ’s crucifixion, complete with a crown of thorns. Maybe it was just a memory from a movie – but almost five months on from the final ceremony I feel more grateful than ever to be alive.

@matthabusby

Posted on November 26, 2022
Covid long-haulers turn to unproven treatments in desperation

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For the burgeoning population of covid long-haulers, there is an abundance of new treatment options: Specially formulated nutraceuticals imported from India that promise to “get you life back from covid.” Pure oxygen delivered in a pressurized chamber. And, if time and money are no obstacle, a process known as “blood washing” that’s available in Cyprus, or $25,000 stem cell treatments in the Cayman Islands.

Months-long waits at long-covid clinics combined with the sluggish pace of research have left vulnerable patients clamoring for immediate care as manufacturers bring novel remedies to market, often with little data behind them.

“I have tried, I would say, as many different things as anyone could do in my situation,” said Donna Davis-Doneghy, a 62-year-old accountant with Hearthside Food Solutions in London, Ky., who has been tormented by headaches since coming down with covid in November 2020.

“People will say to me, ‘Here’s a phone number,’ and off I go chasing something different,” said Davis-Doneghy, whose treatment regimen has ranged from acupuncture and Botox to nerve-block injections and vitamin infusions.

Long covid has taken to new heights a medical conflict that shows up with cancer and other dire diagnoses: the tension between the desire for evidence and the pressing needs of patients who are suffering. In their rush for relief, patients are turning to unproven treatments, putting them at risk of potentially harmful health effects as well as having their hopes dashed and their wallets emptied. Doctors often follow the practice of prescribing drugs off-label, not for the purpose the Food and Drug Administration originally approved them for.

What you need to know about the latest on long covid

“You want to protect people from charlatans,” said Harlan Krumholz, a professor of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. “We need to resist the temptation to adopt tests and treatments without sufficient evidence to justify their use.”

But until researchers discover the mechanism — or, more likely, mechanisms — that cause long covid, clinicians are having to rely on their experience treating other illnesses.

“We’re kind of stuck,” said Michelle Haddad, a neuropsychologist who runs a long-covid clinic at Emory Rehabilitation Hospital in Atlanta. “I can define areas where you have impairments and how impaired you are. I can tell you what works in other, similar conditions. But I don’t have a magic pill.”

The scale of the problem — and opportunities for profiteering — are increasing as the number of Americans reporting long-lasting symptoms ramps up to as many as 15 million adults. Data released this summer by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that almost 15 percent of the population has had long covid, or symptoms that lasted three months or longer after the acute infection.

Many long-haulers describe being devastated by disabilities that range from fatigue to brain fog and body-wracking tremors. Facing disbelief from their families and physicians, and frustrated by the slow pace of science, they are turning to social media to share ideas for relief.

While some patients report getting insurance coverage for the treatment of some symptoms, such as migraines, many end up spending thousands of dollars, out of pocket. Robert Harris, a 48-year-old veteran in Texas, estimates he has paid $25,000 for treatments, from over-the-counter supplements to the horse dewormer ivermectin and hyperbaric oxygen. “I can’t figure out what research is being done, what treatments have been approved,” he said.

The $1.15 billion Recover program, awarded nearly two years ago to the National Institutes of Health, is aimed at understanding the biological basis of long covid. Establishing the safety and efficacy of potential treatments involves a further step — setting up randomized controlled trials. Although NIH recently announced its intent to investigate the potential impact of the antiviral Paxlovid, results are not expected until 2024, reinforcing some scientists’ argument for a more agile research model to match the urgency of the moment.

“Government-sponsored and government-funded mechanisms are designed for incremental innovation — for steady and safe discoveries,” said David Putrino, director of rehabilitation innovation for Mount Sinai Health System in New York.

Under the swiftly changing circumstances of the pandemic, smaller research teams, advocacy groups and private companies with a variety of standards have stepped in — often without robust scientific evidence that the products actually work.

“We are the ETSY of long covid — DIY but giving you something the establishment can’t,” tweeted Ram Yogendra, an anesthesiologist with the California company IncellDx, referring to the company’s do-it-yourself approach, modeled on the online craftsmanship marketplace. IncellDx purports to have developed a diagnostic blood test for long covid.

Using machine learning to identify what is unusual in long-haulers’ blood, IncellDx claims to have found an immune signature or “cytokine profile” for the condition. The company, which has received a patent for using the HIV drug maraviroc to treat coronaviruses, has published three studies, enrolling more than 700 patients.

‘We are in trouble’: Study raises alarm about impacts of long covid

Krumholz said immune signatures are likely to become important for diagnosis and treatment. But after reviewing the data on the IncellDx website, he warned about the dangers of researchers rushing to adopt tests before the evidence is sufficient. “The evidentiary standards need to be much higher and the transparency about the science much greater than we have today to justify widespread use,” he said.

The $415 diagnostic test has been used by about 10,000 people, creating a “tremendous database,” according to Bruce Patterson, the former Stanford virologist who leads the company. The results, Patterson said, can be used to inform personalized treatment protocols typically administered by the patients’ primary care providers. A company spokeswoman said many long-haulers pay an additional $250 for a follow-up consultation and buy additional tests to check how the therapy is working. She said the company recognizes that the data need to “evolve” and said that IncellDX is helping people in the meantime.

Patterson, who said he is working on contracts for clinical trials of a “drug combination that we think works,” said it is up to patients and their doctors to decide how to proceed with treatment. “We do what clinical pathologists should do: ‘Here is a test report, you treat accordingly,’” he said. Company doctors are available to offer guidance, Patterson said.

But Alba Azola, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, said she has treated patients who report having spent hundreds of dollars for the tests and then don’t know what to make of the results.

“They bring it to me, like, ‘Look at this,’” Azola said. “And I’m, ‘I don’t know what to do with that.’”

Other long-haulers, including Harris, have paid for treatments promoted by groups linked to vaccine hesitancy and anti-science messaging.

Among them is the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance, a nonprofit that promotes the anti-parasitic ivermectin not only for the prevention and treatment of acute covid but also as part of its long-covid protocol. The alliance publishes a list of pharmacies that will supply ivermectin, approved by the FDA to treat some parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions like rosacea in humans. But the drug has not been shown to be effective in the treatment of acute covid illness. The American Medical Association and other professional groups oppose using the drug for covid outside of clinical trials because of its potential toxicity.

How long covid is accelerating a revolution in medical research

The alliance was co-founded by Pierre Kory, a critical-care physician who touted ivermectin as a “miracle drug” in Senate testimony and also runs a private telemedicine practice where he treats long-haulers. Kory, who charges $1,650 for an initial video consultation, follow-ups and check-in calls according to patients’ needs, said the drugs he prescribes, including ivermectin, steroids and anti-inflammatories, are safe.

In an interview, Kory said he does not follow the AMA’s position on ivermectin because the association provides general guidance but does not treat people. Other researchers say that the risks of the drug are known and that its benefits have not been shown.

“Based on the lack of effectiveness in acute covid, combined with what we know about long covid, it is extremely unlikely that ivermectin would be beneficial for someone suffering from long covid,” said Francesca Beaudoin, head of the Brown University School of Public Health’s Long Covid Initiative.

Kory also criticized the research community for being too slow to keep up with patient needs.

“We’re stuck right now trying to help patients with trial and error until the science evolves,” he said. “All of my patients get better to some extent.”

How long covid could change the way we think about disability

Among the most common online offerings are dietary supplements, which do not have to meet the same regulatory standards as pharmaceuticals. While drugs must be shown to be safe and effective before they reach the consumer, there are no such provisions for the FDA to regulate vitamins, herbs and amino acids.

One of the most widely touted supplements among long-haulers is Vedicinals-9, a new herbal suspension that purports to support “the human organism in the recovery phase from viral infections.”

The nutraceutical is made in India, where it is regulated as a food for special medical purpose, or FSMP, and then shipped around the world. A 42-day supply costs $95, according to the product website.

Harris said he bought several boxes but that the solution didn’t reduce the muscle spasms and pain he has suffered since testing positive 10 months ago. Other patients have reported benefits.

The company’s founder, retired German businessman Joachim Gerlach, said he had long been interested in finding natural remedies for chronic illness, which he has witnessed among family members. He turned his attention to acute covid in early 2020, Gerlach said, hoping, as long covid emerged, to find a common approach that would help large numbers of people. He believes that many symptoms stem from an imbalance of the gut bacteria that can help combat disease.

Gerlach, who has reached out to prominent long-covid researchers around the world to plan research next year, said his progress on long covid was “lacking a little bit on the side of publishing.” But by financing Vedicinals out of his own pocket, he said, he can “act fully in the patient’s interest” without pressure from shareholders.

Paxlovid may reduce long covid risk for some patients, VA study finds

New tests and products keep cropping up.

Earlier this month, QMC Health, a diagnostic testing technology company, announced its intention to produce a long-covid rapid test, based on blood biomarkers.

MDHyperbaric, a company in New York, offers oxygen therapy for a variety of conditions, from healing bones to slowing aging and improving long-covid symptoms, saying it plans to measure long-hauler outcomes.

And in October, Norman B. Gaylis, a Miami-based rheumatologist, collaborated with Tel Aviv researchers to release an “all-natural, patented formula RESTORE,” described on the company’s website as “proven by clinical study” to improve symptoms of covid long-haulers.

That study, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, involved 51 patients with positive coronavirus tests who reported lingering symptoms three to 11 months after infection. On average, the participants reported that their symptoms were milder after two weeks and better still after four, according to the study.

The study is small and lacked a control group to assess whether the patients’ symptoms would have improved anyway over time or whether their self-reported improvements resulted from a placebo effect.

“Obviously, a double-blind control is more valuable,” Gaylis said in a telephone interview. “Between time and cost and urgency, these things take so long, we felt it was sufficient.” The biggest endorsement of the product, he said, was that so many people who took part in the study asked to buy it.

Without solid data about treatments, some primary care physicians have fallen into a “kitchen-sink approach,” according to Haddad, the rehabilitation specialist at Emory.

Haddad saw one patient who had been prescribed Benadryl and several other sedating drugs in addition to an antidepressant that she was already taking. When the patient complained of brain fog, her doctor added Adderal, a stimulant — a little like chasing shots of hard liquor with double espressos.

“They kept throwing things at the post-covid,” Haddad said. “They didn’t step back and ask, ‘Could medications be part of the culprit?’”

Meanwhile, clinicians who are running long-covid clinics at major medical centers are drawing on their experience treating conditions with similar symptoms, such as ME/CFS, or chronic fatigue syndrome; POTS, a blood circulation disorder that causes a rapid heartbeat; and what’s known as post-ICU syndrome.

“We’re using a lot of experience, anecdotal evidence and related evidence with other conditions,” said Benjamin Abramoff, director of the Post-COVID Assessment and Recovery Clinic at Penn Medicine. “A lot of the things we do have not gone through trials.”

Mexico City gave ivermectin to thousands of covid patients. Officials face an ethics backlash.

Many rehab experts have been meeting at CDC-funded monthly webinars to pool the expertise they are gaining and come up with guidance published by the American Academy of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine.

There are likely to be therapeutic benefits to some of the treatments long-haulers are trying. A few small studies have suggested hyperbaric oxygen may provide relief. The spice turmeric, or curcumin — an ingredient found in Vedicinals and the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance’s protocols — has anti-inflammatory properties. The key, clinicians say, is to evaluate the risk/benefit ratio for every therapy, including potentially detrimental interactions with other medications.

“For things patients are interested in trying, I won’t dissuade them if the risk of harm is low,” said Jeffrey Fine, director of rehabilitation medicine at NYU Langone Hospital, who said he tries “to meet patients where they are.”

In the meantime, patients continue their own research, through online resources such as Twitter.

“It’s my social life, my family, my research library,” said Molly Gordon, a 69-year-old executive coach in Washington state who gradually pieced together a self-diagnosis of mast cell activation syndrome — a condition akin to allergic reactions — that she believes came from long covid. Gordon said she is putting about $500 a month of her retirement savings toward supplements and cannabis.

Those networks have turned long-covid care into an international free-for-all, as patients search for therapies overseas, often with little idea of the regulatory oversight — or lack thereof.

Laura Wright, 45, a reflexologist in England, joined Twitter to glean information from fellow sufferers around the world about how to combat the fatigue that has plagued her since she came down with covid a year ago. She tried hyperbaric oxygen and began taking “every supplement under the sun and adding new ones every month,” Wright said, including garlic, hawthorn, B-12 and magnesium, until she began wondering whether they were doing her more harm than good.

She went cold turkey. With one exception: Boluoke.

Wright has pinned her hopes on the earthworm extract that is thought to promote circulatory health. A bottle of 30 capsules, which she imports from Canada, costs about $55.

“If I can get back to working again, then it will be worth it,” Wright said.

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