Clinical Research Directory

Cardiovascular Autonomic and Immune Mechanism of Post COVID-19 Tachycardia Syndrome

The term post-acute COVID-19 syndrome or Long COVID is a disabling syndrome that persists beyond the 3-month convalescence period after COVID-19 infections. This syndrome affects mostly women (\~80%), present with chronic tachycardia and Orthostatic intolerance symptoms without any identifiable cause. In addition, non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, headache, and "brain fog", commonly described in POTS patients are also present in this novel condition, recently named post-COVID-19 tachycardia syndrome, POTS variant. Reduced Vagal activity and unresolved inflammation is post-COVID-19 POTS is hypothesized as the cause of Long COVID

Imbalances of Regional Pulmonary Ventilation in Patients With Post-acute-COVID-19

Investigation of the correlation of CT-morphological changes of the lung compared to regional ventilation distribution on electrical impedance tomography in patients with post-acute-Covid-19 symptoms.

Education of Medical Staff to Post Acute Covid susTained sYmptoms

Evaluation of the effectiveness of a training and support intervention for general practitioners treating patients with persistent symptoms after a COVID-19 episode on the patients'quality of life at 3 months.

Effectiveness of Non-invasive Neuromodulation in Patients With Long-COVID

Sleep quality and duration are critical to cognitive, emotional and physical well-being, and poor sleep quality has been associated with an increased risk of cognitive, psychological and cardiometabolic disorders. Several important physiological activities occur during sleep including a reduction in heart rate and blood pressure. In addition, sleep exerts important modulatory effects on hormone release. Previous studies have shown that lack of sleep can generate exaggerated cortisol responses or psychological and physiological stressors. Cortisol has widespread effects throughout the body and brain, affecting mood, arousal, energy, metabolic processes, and immune and inflammatory system functioning. Therefore, disruptions in cortisol secretion during the night can influence a wide variety of processes in our body that may contribute to the perception of poorer sleep quality. In addition, the salivary enzyme α-amylase is considered a biomarker of cognitive, psychosocial, emotional or physical stress. It is important to note that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulates several physiological processes, including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and digestion. The ANS consists primarily of the sympathetic system and the parasympathetic system. Increased parasympathetic activity is considered to promote health, whereas a dominant or overactive sympathetic branch is considered to be detrimental to health. A recent study found that both sleep quality and quantity of sleep were associated with resting ANS functioning. They found that poorer sleep quality was associated with greater sympathetic dominance. Research on the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the ANS has shown that autonomic imbalances are precursors to disease formation and other health-related risks. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has in many cases involved the presence of long-lasting symptoms several weeks or months after surviving acute infection with the virus, leading to a new disease called long COVID-19 or post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS). A recent study showed that sleep quality influences the relationship between symptoms associated with sensitization and mood disorders with health-related quality of life in people suffering from long COVID. Non-invasive neuromodulation directed to ANS may be an option to treat the sleep disorders observed in patients with long COVID. OBJETIVES: Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a treatment protocol on the ANS by means of non-invasive neuromodulation in aspects related to sleep in long COVID patients compared to placebo. As secondary objectives, we propose to evaluate the efficacy of a treatment protocol on the ANS by non-invasive neuromodulation in aspects related to ANS functioning, psychological variables, fatigue, pain perception and quality of life in patients with long COVID.