STRONGER is an international Long COVID study, that will test if a commonly used medication can help reduce the ongoing neurological symptoms experienced by individuals after the acute phase of their COVID-19 illness has passed.
STRONGER is a randomised and open-label clinical trial, meaning that:
- Our participants have a 50:50 chance of receiving the study medication or be allocated to standard care, and;
- There is no placebo, which means, participants assigned to the standard care (non-intervention) arm will not need to take a placebo drug – Participants in the non-intervention group will continue to receive any care that they are currently receiving. Therefore, all participants in the study will know if they are receiving the intervention or not.
Since it first emerged in 2019, COVID in its various forms has affected over 400 million people1. Many people who have been diagnosed with the virus have had ongoing symptoms such as problems with breathing, energy, muscle strength, memory, and mood. These ongoing symptoms are not limited to people who were severely ill and were hospitalised with COVID-19.
Studies show that up to three quarters of patients report at least one symptom several months after onset of the infection. The most common symptoms of Long COVID are fatigue, muscle weakness, disturbed sleep, and anxiety/depression. Additionally, approximately 5-10% of people report neurological symptoms, such as ‘brain fog’, headaches, poor concentration, and dizziness2,3.
For more information about participating in this research, please click here.
References:
- Word Health Organisation [Online] https://covid19.who.int/
- Huang C, Huang L, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Gu X, et al. 6-month consequences of covid-19 in patients discharged from hospital: A cohort study. Lancet. 2021;397:220-232
- Zubair AS, McAlpine LS, Gardin T, Farhadian S, Kuruvilla DE, Spudich S. Neuropathogenesis and neurologic manifestations of the coronaviruses in the age of coronavirus disease 2019: A review. JAMA Neurology. 2020;77:1018-1027
STRONGER is an investigator-initiated study funded by National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) / Rare Cancers Rare Diseases and Unmet Need – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Medical Research Futures Fund (RG203341).
The study is sponsored by The George Institute for Global Health.
The study has been approved by the Sydney Local Health District -RPA Zone Human Research and Ethics Committee. STRONGER study is registered in Clinicaltrials.gov . You can access the details by clicking here.