Researchers at NSU’s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine were awarded a federal contract with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to research “COVID long haulers,” or individuals who have not fully recovered several weeks after contracting COVID-19.
According to a press release from NSU News, NSU is the only institution to receive this contract, which includes over $4 million in funding.
Dr. Nancy Klimas, the director of NSU’s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, described two main experiences of the COVID-19 infection: a flu-like illness that can be treated at home or a more serious condition where further medical care is needed. Despite expectations of more prolonged problems being found in individuals who had a more “serious” case of COVID-19, around half of the people with the long-sustained illness were the ones who experienced more flu-like symptoms.
“They find themselves, 12 weeks after the infection, still not fully recovered or able to work,” said Klimas.
This occurrence caught the attention of Klimas and her team at NSU’s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine due to their research on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), known as ME/CFS. ME/CFS is a serious and potentially disabling illness, where sufferers may experience chronic pain, difficulties with cognitive function, physical fatigue, hormonal dysfunction and a host of other symptoms. An estimated 10-12% of individuals who contract COVID-19 may not fully recover after around three months and may experience symptoms similar to ME/CFS, according to Klimas.
“ME/CFS frequently follows a flu-like illness. It’s the most common onset of ME/CFS: an acute viral infection from which you don’t recover. We’ve been working very hard in that field — in my case, since the late 80s. We’ve established a very good understanding of what that chronic illness looks like and what the underpinnings of that illness are. [This group has] advanced that knowledge quite a bit in our field. Our group at [NSU] has been the leaders in [ME/CFS] for quite some time,” said Klimas.
The research team is partnering with the Broward Public Health Department to identify individuals who have received a positive PCR test for COVID-19 in the last least three months, putting them in the time frame in which they could have fully recovered from the illness. The team will send text messages to these individuals to ask if they have fully recovered and further narrow down the sample group into several stages until a smaller group of individuals are selected to come to the clinic and undergo a comprehensive physical exam. As this research is being contractually funded by the CDC, which entails close involvement in the design and implementation of the study, the team is meeting with the CDC frequently.
Many people who have been studied with ME/CFS have been those with access to healthcare, oftentimes meaning they are insured and white and not necessarily representative of every individual who is actually sick, according to Klimas. The methodology for this research allows the team to reach out to essentially anyone who has had a COVID-19 test, creating a “Truly representative sample of who is actually sick.”
“It’s not just that we should do it because it’s convenient or because there’s funding or something like that, we should do it because it’s the right thing to do. This pandemic is our call to action,” said Klimas.
For more information regarding NSU’s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, visit www.nova.edu/NIM. To read NSU News’ press release on this research, visit this link or go to www.news.nova.edu.
