Open USA: Endothelial Function and Upright Activity in ME/CFS and Long COVID

We are conducting a study on endothelial function, upright activity and cognition in ME/CFS and Long Covid and collecting blood samples to assess for biomarkers. The study will require a 2-hour in-person visit and then will continue for seven days with tests and surveys that are done from the comfort of your home. The in-person visit will start with you giving informed consent, answering questionnaires, and having a blood draw. Then we will take about 15 minutes to measure endothelial function using an FDA-approved device, called EndoPAT. This test uses a blood pressure cuff to squeeze your arm for five minutes and a finger probe measures the rate of blood flow. Then a 2nd tablespoon of blood will be obtained. We will outfit you with a wearable device that is worn on your ankle for seven days and provide you with a mailer to be sent back to us. A cognitive testing app will be set up on your smartphone so you can take the test in the morning and evening for seven days.

Study participation will last one week with one in-person clinic visit. You will be compensated $50.00 for participation in the study.

If you are interested in learning more about this study, please contact us by:

Emailing: research@batemanhornecenter.org or call (801) 532-8311

https://batemanhornecenter.org/research/#active-recruiting

 

"We are at the halfway point of enrollment for this study and wanted to share the interim analysis. Figure 1 shows the RHI results for 24 ME/CFS patients, 14 Long COVID patients, and 5 controls. The average RHI scores for Long COVID patients was 0.53, 0.63 for ME/CFS patients, and 0.59 for controls. Remember that an RHI of <0.51 is abnormal. While the average RHI is normal (>0.51) for each of the 3 groups is normal, 8/14 (57%) of the Long COVID patients had an abnormal RHI score, 9/24 (38%) of ME/CFS patients had an abnormal RHI score, and 2/5 (40%) of controls had an abnormal RHI score. Enrolling more patients will give a stronger signal to let us know whether endothelial dysfunction is a significant finding in Long COVID and ME/CFS patients."

https://batemanhornecenter.org/endothelial-function-interim-results-we-still-need-you/