Norwood’s Montefiore Medical Center has been selected to participate in a new research study as part of an initiative by the National Institute of Health (NIH) called “Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER).”

 

Montefiore officials said Dr. Seth Congdon, medical director of Montefiore’s COVID-19 Recovery (CORE) clinic is the principal investigator and will lead the “Recover-Autonomic study,” assessing possible treatments for adults who have an autonomic [involuntary/unconscious] nervous system disorder called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), related to long COVID.

 

They said the study will include adults who had COVID-19, and who still have one or more of the following autonomic dysfunction symptoms when they stand up from sitting or lying down: fast heart rate, dizziness, and fatigue.

 

Montefiore officials said study participants will be split into groups. Some will receive Ivabradine, an oral medication that reduces the heart rate, some will get a placebo, and some will receive guided, non-drug care, such as exercise and nutrition guidance via weekly phone calls.

 

A placebo can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets like sugar pills, and inert injections like saline. Generally, participants who consent to taking part in a drug trial do not know whether they are being given a placebo or some other type of activating medication.

 

Montefiore officials said Montefiore’s participants will be paid for their time, and that the results will be combined with results from participants around the country to determine the best treatment for patients with long COVID-related POTS.

 

According to the NIH, the RECOVER initiative is a large, nationwide research program designed to understand, treat, and prevent long COVID. Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the NIH, who is also co-chair of RECOVER, said “The [RECOVER] trials were developed with input from people living with long COVID, caregivers, community representatives, clinicians and scientists all with unique expertise in the field.”

 

Gibbons added, “We are grateful for their collective involvement which significantly shaped the trials and the choice of interventions.”

 

Montefiore’s CORE clinic, launched in June 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, provides follow-up and recovery engagement to patients who had COVID-19, helping to address their ongoing symptoms and chronic conditions, as well as any new issues that arise related to their COVID-19 infection.

 

For more information about the new clinical trial at Montefiore, people can email scongdon@montefiore.org and rosina.antwi@einsteinmed.edu.