Psychophysiologic Symptom Relief Therapy for Post-Acute Sequelae of Coronavirus Disease 2019, 2022, Michael Donnino, MD et al

[Mij]

Objective
To determine if psychophysiologic symptom relief therapy (PSRT) will reduce symptom burden in patients suffering from post-acute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (PASC) who had mild/moderate acute COVID-19 disease without objective evidence of organ injury.

Patients and Methods
Twenty-three adults under the age of 60 years with PASC for at least 12 weeks after COVID-19 infection were enrolled in an interventional cohort study conducted via a virtual platform between May 18, 2021 and August 7, 2022. Participants received PSRT during a 13-week (approximately 44-hour) course. Participants were administered validated questionnaires at baseline and at 4, 8, and 13 weeks. The primary outcome was a change in somatic symptoms from baseline, measured using the Somatic Symptom Scale-8, at 13 weeks.

Results
The median duration of symptoms before joining the study was 267 days (interquartile range: 144, 460). The mean Somatic Symptom Scale-8 score of the cohort decreased from baseline by 8.5 (95% CI: 5.7-11.4), 9.4 (95% CI: 6.9-11.9), and 10.9 (95% CI: 8.3-13.5) at 4, 8, and 13 weeks, respectively (all P<.001). Participants also experienced statistically significant improvements across other secondary outcomes including changes in dyspnea, fatigue, and pain (all P<.001).

Conclusion
PSRT may effectively decrease symptom burden in patients suffering from PASC without evidence of organ injury. The study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 04854772).
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[Mij]

The study was conducted between May 2021 and August 2022 using a virtual/video platform and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. Participants were recruited through physician referrals, flyers, and social media, and provided written informed consent. The study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 04854772).

We recruited participants primarily through 3 sources: flyers, Facebook ads, and an institution-specific research recruitment website.

We described our study as “evaluating a mind-body approach to reducing COVID Long Haul Syndrome Symptoms.” Participants were screened for their willingness to consider a mind-body approach for treating long COVID and were not considered eligible if they were not open to this type of approach.

The symptoms described in our participants and the PASC literature resembles previously reported reactions to traumatic experiences in patients without physical injury. For example, multiple reports dating back to the American Civil War era report physical symptoms from some soldiers returning from the battlefield with pain, dyspnea, fatigue, exertional fatigue, tachycardia, and sleep problems even when not wounded physically.19-21,43 In addition, post-traumatic stress disorder has been associated with changes in cognition44-46 and even changes in the brain as noted in MRIs.44,45 The existence of such psychophysiologic syndromes with a constellation of symptoms similar to PASC provides a historical precedent for a relationship between psychological states and these physical manifestations.

 

[Tree]

Funding of this study was by
- Adam D’Angelo (Meta, openAI)
- James O’Shaugnessy (venture capital, real estate)

Why would these guys fund this research?

They are smart and willing to spend, so maybe would be willing to spend on quality research?