The Leipzig Treatment Program for Interdisciplinary Diagnosis and Therapy of Neurocognitive Post-COVID Symptoms 2023, Hasting et al

[Sly Saint]

Abstract: This study introduces a 3-week group program designed for patients with neurocognitive post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS). The program represents a combination of evidence-based components of neurorehabilitation and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Following a detailed assessment, we develop a personalized bio-psycho-social model that integrates perceived complaints and identifies modifiable and influencing factors. We employed physiotherapeutic, cognitive, and communicative training methods to improve patients’ awareness of energy limits and implement compensatory strategies, including pacing and mindfulness techniques. N = 33 patients completed the program between June 2021 and November 2022. A pre-post comparison of questionnaire-based self-assessments revealed significant positive effects on mood, self-efficacy, and participation but not on fatigue symptoms. The study provides recommendations for the neuropsychological treatment of patients with PCS.

The Leipzig Treatment Program for Interdisciplinary Diagnosis and Therapy of Neurocognitive Post-COVID Symptoms: Experiences and Preliminary Results: Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie: Vol 34, No 2 (hogrefe.com)

 

[Hutan]

a personalized bio-psycho-social model that integrates perceived complaints

Wow. Perceived. Suggests a high level of confidence in their model.
And yet, they couldn't even get patients to report an improvement in fatigue symptoms, which is a BPS 101 level of achievement, I would have thought.

not on fatigue symptoms.

What's happening? The program is 3 weeks long, which you would think would produce a combination of gratitude and hope, untainted by the reality of no medium-term improvement, sufficient to produce a 'perceived' improvement. Do this team just not know how to manipulate post-treatment survey results? Or are the patients somehow better informed than they used to be?

N = 33 patients completed the program between June 2021 and November 2022.

33 patients completing a 3-week course in a period of 1.5 years. Doesn't sound as though they have been run off their feet with demand, does it? Maybe word of mouth recommendations aren't great?

 

[Trish]

That abstract sounds like a lot of fancy jargon for a basic group based CBT and mindfulness course to teach pacing. If it's done in groups how can it be individualised as they claim?

 

[rvallee]

The Leipzig Treatment Program for Interdisciplinary Diagnosis and Therapy of Neurocognitive Post-COVID Symptoms

A pre-post comparison of questionnaire-based self-assessments revealed significant positive effects on mood, self-efficacy, and participation but not on fatigue symptoms

None of those are symptoms. Not sure where neurocognitive turned into fatigue, but if you're not actually treating neurocognitive symptoms, then you're not a neurocognitive treatment program. You're just very expensive quackery.

And I guess we're at the point where they pretend that they build models for every single patient? That's not even what a model is, a model is supposed to be standard, at least to a point. So they basically went from "developing" (the same, every time) models for "novel" treatments to now they're developing models every time, for every patient, even in a group context. What a bunch of crockery. This is racketeering pure and simple. They are scamming sick people and it's disgusting that this is what modern medicine has regressed to.

 

[NelliePledge]

They did 10 group workshop days in 15 working days and homework on the non working days. Wow that is demanding, pretty much a normal working week.


33 in Groups of 3-4 so they ran about 10 courses over the period of the study.

 

[Peter T]

The program represents a combination of evidence-based components of neurorehabilitation and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

My heart now sinks whenever I see the phrase ‘evidence-based’. It seems increasingly to mean unevidenced preconceptions/biases.

 

[RedFox]

So CBT made patient feel a little better emotionally but didn't help their autoimmunity/brain damage/coagulopathy/whatever LC actually is? Color me surprised.

 

[Sid]

but not on fatigue symptoms

At the end of the day, you can waffle your way through questionnaires that have nothing to do with the core symptoms of the illness but you can’t wish yourself into being able to do more.

 

[Sean]

So CBT made patient feel a little better emotionally...

Made some patients report feeling a little better emotionally, with no meaningful impact on any other measure, no specific relationship to the condition being studied, and the result being very plausibly explained entirely by known generic non-therapeutic confounders in this type of research.

This is the total 'benefit' to us from several decades of almost complete dominance of research and clinical and policy advice by the psycho-behavioural club.

It is pathetic and appalling beyond words.

 

[rvallee]

Made some patients report feeling a little better emotionally, with no meaningful impact on any other measure, and no specific relationship to the condition being studied, and the result being very plausibly explained entirely by known generic non-therapeutic confounders is this type of research.

This is the total 'benefit' to us from several decades of almost complete dominance of research and clinical and policy advice by the psycho-behavioural club.

It is pathetic and appalling beyond words.

They literally bet millions of lives on this. This pathetic nonsense amounting to criminal negligence and malfeasance. Millions!

It's like they bet everything at roulette, on 88 blue. They went all in on an outcome that doesn't even exist.

 

[SNT Gatchaman]

Not sure where neurocognitive turned into fatigue

Because the poor dear fragile little poppets only think they're tired.

 

[RedFox]

Because the poor dear fragile little poppets only think they're tired.

Too late, I've already progressed to thinking I'm seriously ill.