I have not done a deep dive into the infection-fighting drugs with regard to their impact on memory and brain function - so I can’t comment on that.
We are still in the very earliest days with regard to possible uses of these antiviral type drugs in longevity protocols. I’m open to trying these, given the good safety data I could find (and taking Dr. Fraser’s perspective that you want to be careful with drug/drug interactions, so may want to pause rapamycin while initiating any trials). But so far I’ve seen nobody even trying these drugs in longevity applications yet. I think it would be interesting to do a battery of pre-testing of cognitive function, such as done via the NeuroAge app: Predicting Alzheimers & Dementia (and minimizing risk) - #313 by RapAdmin , and then retesting after a week or a month of using Maraviroc.
I’ve seen no studies that link drugs like Maraviroc to increased lifespan, so I think the data so far is limited to specific areas, though broadly of course inflammation is an issue in aging, so there could be some systemic benefits.
Right on, thanks for the reply. Glad to hear all that. Had no idea.
Hopefully you can trial Maraviroc one day and share your review on it.
You bring up a good point about it being limited to specific areas, and it appears to be only available in a few continents.
Might be a while before seeing any results for increased lifespan from the data.
Though would be cool to have people who use (or can get) these medications and do various testing such as the cognitive tests, or other types of testing such as rate of aging, blood testing etc - to see if there is anything good or bad with the testing.
I just started Maraviroc a few days ago, 300mg BID, for Long COVID. I became interested in it based on the Patient-reported treatment outcomes study that @RapAdmin posted earlier. I had already been taking Sirolimus, 6mg weekly, also for Long COVID, for the past 6 months with little discernable improvements. I discussed with my prescribing Doctor and he thinks there is no significant interactions between the two, despite both being metabolized by the CYP3A4 enzyme. However I’m planning to decrease the Sirolimus dose to 4mg weekly.
I’m also currently taking 180mg ER Mestinon and 12mg Metoprolol, both of which improve POTS symptoms, and 10mg Rosevestatin, to reduce fractalkine and LDL, which came back high after my acute COVID infection. Also tons of supplements, including most B vitamins, D3, astaxanthin, urolithin, ubiquinol, etc.
I used the free new Long COVID AI platform at RTHM.com to analyze this drug combination, and it judged theese to be a synergistic drug combination that that targets multiple pathways identified in the current Long COVID research. I’m hopeful, but generally take AI with a grain of salt.
I had a liver panel done before taking and will have another in 2 weeks. So far no noticible effects or side-effects. We expect it’ll be 3-4 weeks before anything becomes evident and 2 months before any full effect. Brain fog and memery issues have been an issue since my acute infection, so I’m hoping Maraviroc will help. I used nicotine patches with great cognitive and memory improvements earlier this year, but stopped patching when I started Mestinon so as to avoid overloading the cholinergic system.
The current thought is to take Maraviroc for 3 months, but I’m open to longer if it seems helpful. HIV patients are documented to have taking Maraviroc for 5 years with no ill effects. Both Polybio and HealthBio are running Maraviroc clinical trials for Long COVID now with results coming out early next year.
Please do some pre and post measurement of memory abilities, and report back if you see any signal in the data. Some options:
Here’s a structured table of ~10 memory/cognition-measurement and training tools, along with validation status, pros/cons, ideal user profiles—tailored for your systems-thinking, longitudinal-monitoring mindset.
#
Tool
Category
Validation / Scientific Basis
Pros
Cons
Best For
1
Lila (by Cogstate)
Measurement / screening
Described as “science-backed, reliable … episode memory” test. (Cogstate)
Well-designed for memory/episodic domain; repeatable baseline option
More screening-oriented (early Alzheimer’s risk) than peak performance; cost/licensing may apply
High-signal baseline & periodic assessment in a longevity stack
2
XpressO (by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA))
Measurement
Digital self-assessment from MoCA platform. (Moca Cognition)
From well-known cognitive screening source; quick, easy
Still screening/impairment focus, less optimized for high-performer tracking
A convenient “check-in” tool for periodic monitoring
3
BrainTest
Measurement
Promotes itself as clinically validated (sensitivity/specificity stats) for MCI/dementia screening. (Apple)
Good for establishing a baseline and historical change tracking
Geared to impairment detection; less about fine-grained high-function cognition
For users concerned about early decline and wanting baseline data
4
CANTAB Digital Cognitive Assessments (by Cambridge Cognition)
Measurement / professional
Marketed as “most validated cognitive assessment software available”. (Cambridge Cognition)
Very high-fidelity, used in research/clinical contexts; good depth
Higher cost, less consumer-friendly; may require more time/effort
For someone doing serious longitudinal cognitive tracking as part of a health/longevity stack
5
CogniFit
Hybrid (Measurement + some training)
Popular consumer app; claims many abilities. (Google Play)
Easy to access; offers both measures and “games”
Consumer-grade; training effects transfer to real-world cognition remain uncertain (see notes)
Good for casual use and tracking but treat training gains cautiously
6
Peak (with game “Decoder” developed at University of Cambridge)
Use with caution, pick ones with credibility & evidence base
Meta-Takeaways for Your Use-Case
Given your interest in tracking, biomarker integration, and high-fidelity monitoring, here are some recommendations and caveats:
Use measurement tools as baseline + periodic check-ins: Tools #1-#4 are better suited for your stack (baseline cognitive/episodic memory status, tracking change over time).
Treat training apps as supplemental: Tools #5-#10 can be part of your lifestyle “cognitive hygiene” stack (like sleep, exercise, nutrition) but should not be over-interpreted as major drivers of cognitive change. This is because the evidence for broad transfer (i.e., “get better at game → big improvement in daily memory tasks”) remains weak. (Stanford Center on Longevity)
Document intervals and context: Like you do for biomarkers, track measurement results over consistent intervals (6-12 months maybe), note intervening variables (sleep, stress, illness, medication, lifestyle changes) so you can correlate memory/cognition performance with those external variables.
Beware of practice effects and ceiling/floor effects: If you use the same tool repeatedly, some improvement may reflect “you know the test now” rather than true cognitive gain. Especially if you’re already high-performing, marginal gains may be small.
Complement with lifestyle & other biomarkers: The evidence suggests that physical activity, social engagement, sleep quality, medical risk factors (vascular, metabolic) are more robust for cognitive health than brain-training apps alone. (Harvard Health)
Interpret changes thoughtfully: If you see decline, use it as an early flag—not panic—but consider further work-up (medical/neurology) especially given the screening-oriented nature of some tools (#1-#3).
Choose tools suited to your performance level and objectives: For example, if you are a high-cognitive-performer tracking subtle changes, measurement tools with high sensitivity (like CANTAB) will serve better than casual training apps. If you’re older or worried about early decline, those screening tools become more valuable.
If you like, I can pull downloadable links, cost/price tiers, platform (iOS/Android/web), and a summary score (based on criteria: scientific validation, user experience, suitability for high-performer tracking vs. aging/impairment risk) for each of the above tools, so you can decide which to integrate into your monitoring stack. Would you like me to build that?
Also…
My CGPT5 prompt:
Identify the best, most scientifically validated memory measurement and practice websites and apps
Just downloaded the ExpressO by MoCA and scored a 93. I’ll try again in a few weeks to see if I’ve improved. But as the “Cons” column said, this is geared towards detecting impairment, not measuring high-functioning cognition, so I’m not sure how useful it’ll be. I have a cognitively demanding job and I can tell when I’m off my game, although I know that’s a subjective measurement.
Meta-Takeaways for Your Use-Case