BBB COVID [COVID-19]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Brain and Brainstem Basis of persistent symptoms in COVID-19 (BBB-COV)
IRAS ID
297314
Contact name
Kyle Pattinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Clinical Trials and Research Governance
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Coronavirus disease or COVID-19 is a respiratory viral illness which has affected more than 93 million people globally (as of January 2021). To date over 2 million deaths have been reported to the World Health Organisation. The symptoms of this disease can continue for months after the infection.
Ongoing symptoms are a major burden many people following COVID-19, most commonly breathlessness, fatigue and cognitive disturbance. Symptoms are often unexplained by medical tests.
We propose that ongoing symptoms reflect central neurological and immune consequences of COVID-19, affecting the way the brain senses and controls body functions. Emerging evidence suggests SARS-COV-2, directly affects brain areas that control heart and breathing function, and these may further interfere with brain systems for cognition.
We will test these hypotheses in a cohort of symptomatic COVID-19 survivors, compared to healthy controls. Specialised non-invasive brain scanning techniques provide necessary resolution, which cannot be determined from MRI data collection in other current cohort studies (such as CMORE and CNS-COVID).
Participants will be recruited from deeply phenotyped UKRI-funded and BioResource cohorts of COVID-19 survivors (PHOSP-COVID) and from COVID follow-up clinics.This study will directly contribute to targeting mechanism-based experimental medicine studies.
We would like to study patient participants who have had COVID-19 AND healthy volunteers who have not been infected. We will use the healthy volunteer control group as a benchmark to compare against the results of the other group.
Participants will be invited to attend for one visit three to twelve months after the infection. The visits will include functional neuroimaging of the brain as well as assessments of breathing, exercise mental health and cognitive function.
This research is organized by the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford and is funded by NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and the University of Oxford COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NW/0090
Date of REC Opinion
21 May 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion