Long Covid treatment breakthrough as scientists find simple ways to reverse ‘brain fog’

Long Covid treatment breakthrough as scientists find simple ways to reverse ‘brain fog’ A Long Covid trial by the University College London helped patients to return to work and their hobbies, and is the first to show that cognitive rehabilitation is possible The first effective Long Covid brain rehab programme has been developed by UK scientists. The team developed techniques which slashed symptoms, such as brain fog, and enabled patients to return to work and hobbies. Simple practices were coached to participants in a ten-week course of hour-long one-to-one video calls with a therapist. The trial of 78 Long Covid patients by University College London is the first to show cognitive rehabilitation of Long Covid is possible. The study offers hope to thousands of families whose loved ones have been left effectively disabled by lasting symptoms of Covid-19. Lead author Dr Martina Vanova said: “As many as one in three people with Covid go on to develop Long Covid, and cognitive difficulties are among the most common symptoms that can persist for months, disrupting day-to-day functioning and quality of life. “People might find it hard to focus or hold on to their thoughts as they struggle with memory, attention and planning, often compounded by fatigue.” The GP Patient Survey last year indicated that 4.2% of the population in England - over two million people - describe themselves as living with Long Covid. The Mirror has previously reported how many feel forgotten and ignored as the country moved on from the pandemic. The pioneering programme, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, helped sufferers improve working memory and maintain concentration. Long Covid patients often forget what they are doing and report not being able to sustain a conversation because they lose their train of thought. Study participant Emma Sullivan, a mother of two from Surrey, caught Covid-19 in August 2021 and four months later was diagnosed with Long Covid. Emma, 57, said: “It was terrible, affecting my life in lots of ways, but particularly mentally. I could no longer concentrate or multi-task and struggled with reading problems, exhaustion and speaking in full sentences. “The sessions in the trial were really helpful, as they taught me to break tasks down into smaller pieces and stop getting so overwhelmed, and to visualise words that I couldn’t find. “I built up my concentration abilities once again so I can finish a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle by myself, after previously struggling with my granddaughter’s 30-piece puzzles. I can now accept that long Covid has changed my life because now I can manage it better, therefore I’m living better.” To improve working memory the programme used the following techniques: - Visualisation - for example, practice visualising the events in your calendar for the day with the details and places - Chunking - for example, when reading, break long text into smaller sections. After each paragraph, stop and summarise the main idea in your own words - Categorising - to remember your shopping list, group the items into categories, such as bakery, meat, diary, etc To help participants maintain attention during tasks, therapists encouraged them to set a timer for 10 minutes of work, followed by a five-minute breathing break. Another major symptom of Long Covid is being easily distracted by things around you such as loud noises and forgetting what you are doing mid-task. Therapists encouraged participants to do tasks with no distractions, such as turning off phone notifications and asking people not to disturb them for a period of time. They told participants to keep a log of when they forgot something or became distracted - writing down what they forgot, where they were and what was happening around them. This helped participants to spot patterns and make changes. Another major problem Long Covid patients struggle with is maintaining a sequence of tasks, such as cooking a meal. Coaches advised participants to talk themselves through the activity step-by-step, saying what they were going to do. It also recommended forming habits to help participants improve, such as doing the chosen activity they want to do - such as reading a book - at the same time each day so they link it with a specific time and place. Chief investigator Professor Dennis Chan , said: “Since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been trying to better understand Long Covid-related brain fog and have been exploring ways to address it. With this study we have found that an individualised treatment programme of cognitive rehabilitation can help those affected return to normal function.” The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, showed 84% of participants reported a significant improvement three months after completing cognitive rehab, compared to 53% of the control group who received standard care. After six months 53% of those who had cognitive rehab reported a substantial improvement in goal attainment, defined as an improvement of four or more points on the 10-point scale, compared to just 15% of those in the control group. The study also found those on the rehab scored better in thinking and memory tests. Joint senior author Dr Aida Suarez-Gonzalez said: “We have found a treatment that provides clinically meaningful and sustained benefit for people with cognitive long Covid symptoms. “As this programme is based on established cognitive rehabilitation techniques that have been used for other conditions, we hope that it can be easily rolled out as a treatment option for people currently living with long Covid.”