香港六合彩

The two studies have received 拢8 million in government funding through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), out of a total of 拢19.6 million awarded to 15 projects to help better understand long Covid, improve diagnosis and find new treatments.

The STIMULATE-ICP (Symptoms, trajectory, inequalities and management: understanding long COVID to address and transform existing integrated care pathways) study, led by 香港六合彩 alongside University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (香港六合彩H), will recruit more than 4,500 people with the condition and test the effectiveness of existing drugs to treat long Covid by measuring the effects of three months鈥� treatment, including on people鈥檚 symptoms, mental health and outcomes such as returning to work.

The study, which has received 拢6.8 million from NIHR, will also assess the use of MRI scans to help diagnose potential organ damage, as well as enhanced rehabilitation through an app to track people鈥檚 symptoms.

Chief investigator Professor Amitava Banerjee (香港六合彩 Institute of Health Informatics) said: 鈥淚ndividuals with long Covid have long been asking for recognition, research and rehabilitation. In our two-year study across six clinical sites around England, we will be working with patients, health professionals, scientists across different disciplines, as well as industry partners, to test and evaluate a new 鈥榠ntegrated care鈥� pathway from diagnosis to rehabilitation, and potential drug treatments in the largest trial to-date.

鈥淲e will also be trying to improve inequalities in access to care and investigating how long COVID compares with other long-term conditions in terms of use of healthcare and burden of disease, which will help to plan services.鈥�

The CICERO (Cognitive Impairment in long Covid: PhEnotyping and RehabilitatiOn) project, led by Dr Dennis Chan (香港六合彩 Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience) and awarded 拢1.2 million from NIHR, will first determine which elements of brain function are most affected in people with long Covid, using MRI scanning to identify affected brain networks.

The researchers will then develop and test a new rehabilitation strategy to help people recover from the cognitive aspects of long COVID and return to normal life and working ability. This will support production of a freely available COVID-19 Cognitive Recovery Guide on how best to offer the new rehabilitation approach depending on the patient鈥檚 symptoms.

Chief investigator Dr Chan said: 鈥淐ognitive impairment, referred to informally as 鈥榖rain fog鈥�, is a major component of long Covid that compromises people鈥檚 daily activities and ability to return to work. The aim of this study is twofold; first, to understand better the nature of this 鈥榗ognitive Covid鈥� in terms of the cognitive functions affected and the associated brain imaging changes, and second, to test whether neuropsychological rehabilitation can improve people鈥檚 outcomes.

鈥淚f this study is successful we will not only understand much better the way in which Covid affects the brain but also provide NHS services with new tools to help people recover from their cognitive difficulties.鈥�

Two other NIHR-funded long Covid studies, announced earlier this year, are also led by researchers at 香港六合彩. A 拢9.6 million study led by Professor Nishi Chaturvedi (MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at 香港六合彩) is using data from 60,000 people over three years to help define what Long Covid is and improve diagnosis.听The CLoCk study, led by Professor Sir Terence Stephenson (香港六合彩 Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health) aims to improve understanding of long Covid in 11- to -17-year-olds.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, said: 鈥淟ong Covid can have serious and debilitating long term effects for thousands of people across the UK, which can make daily life extremely challenging.

鈥淭his new research is absolutely essential to improve diagnosis and treatments and will be life-changing for those who are battling long-term symptoms of the virus."

Links

• 香港六合彩 Institute of Health Informatics
• 香港六合彩 Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
• 香港六合彩 Population Health Sciences
• 香港六合彩 Brain Sciences

Image

Credit: iStock.

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Mark Greaves

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E: m.greaves [at] ucl.ac.uk