GROUNDBREAKING FINDINGS OF LONG COVID STUDY PRESENTED TO WORLD-LEADING HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
The health community was presented with some interesting findings of a groundbreaking study that offers new hope to sufferers of Long COVID symptoms and educated doctors about treatment of the illness, along with other health challenges facing family medicine including fibromyalgia and chronic pain management, at The International Family Medicine Conference & Exhibition (IFM),
The exhibition was conceptualized in 2013 by INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions, a member of INDEX Holding, and is supported by the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, and The Saudi Society for Evidence Based Healthcare.
It has brought together great minds in family medicine to discuss concepts, including health promotions, prevention and curative programs, as well as to promote equity in health care accessibility.
The overall aim of the IFM is to be a meeting point for education and the sharing of knowledge through the industry-leading speeches and workshops featuring the world’s best in their respective fields – empowering healthcare professionals with the very latest in scientific development.
The issue of Long COVID is an incredibly pressing challenge being tackled by the medical industry, so to now have substantial research into its symptoms, and potential treatment not only offers hope for sufferers, but the industry as a whole.
Recently published in Scientific Reports, the research from Dr Efrati’s team is recognized as using the most comprehensive evaluation and diagnosis protocol report in any Long COVID study to date and will now be presented to family physicians to help educate around the diagnosis and potential treatment of symptoms.
With relatively little research available around Long COVID, patients suffering symptoms have often been left wondering when there might be an end in sight to their suffering, but now there are new hopes of long-term recovery.
Long COVID is characterized by symptoms lasting more than three months following the contraction of COVID-19, with up to 30 per cent of total COVID-19 sufferers going on to experience Long COVID symptoms.
The study suggests that the COVID-19 virus can cause chronic brain injury affecting brain regions responsible for cognitive function, mental status, and pain interpretation, with a treatment program validated in the study being the one currently carried out at Aviv Clinics Dubai.
The study centered around hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Clinical trial participants were split into two groups, with one receiving HBOT, while treating the other with a placebo. Those treated with HBOT breathed 100 per cent oxygen by mask at 2 atmospheres absolute (ATA) for 90 minutes with oxygen fluctuations. The results suggest an improvement not only in overall cognitive function but also the energy domain, sleep, psychiatric symptoms, and pain interference. In addition, a significant increase in lung capacity, and therefore the body’s ability to increase oxygen availability to the heart, brain, lungs, and muscles, was also recorded. Those in the placebo group did not demonstrate such progression.
The research study was conducted by the Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research at Shamir Medical Center and Tel Aviv University. The treatment protocols and evaluation procedures used in this clinical study are available at Aviv Clinics in Dubai, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DP World.
Cited from MENAFN