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Overview
The Unraveling Links Between Chronic Inflammation and Long COVID: Current State, Challenges, and Opportunities workshop was organized by the Trans-NIH Chronic Inflammation Working Group. The virtual event was held on September 19, 20, and 21, 2023.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued for over two years, the number of patients who continue to suffer long-term effects after their initial infection is growing. These patients have been termed as “long haulers” as they are suffering from “long COVID.” Patients with long COVID present a wide range of signs and symptoms and varying degrees of severity, and the conditions can last for weeks, months, or longer. Lingering loss of smell and taste, hearing loss, extreme fatigue, and brain fog are the most common sequelae that persist, but cardiovascular problems, persistent respiratory problems, muscle weakness, and other neurological issues have all been documented in patients suffering from long COVID.
Another major problem is the lack of clear guidelines for the diagnosis of “a long COVID.” Although some studies have suggested prolonged inflammation after SARS-CoV-2 infection may be responsible for long COVID, the mechanisms involved are still not clear. There is an urgent need to bring experts who are working on COVID-related responses in various organs together to gain an understanding of the wide effects of COVID on the body after initial infection with the virus.
Purpose
This workshop brought together multi-disciplinary experts to highlight the latest research on long COVID and chronic inflammation that might be related to the persistent effects of the infection.
Agenda
View agenda for September 19, 2023
Day 1: Defining Long COVID
| Tuesday, September 19 | Topic |
|---|---|
| 10:00 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. | Welcome and Introduction Pushpa Tandon, Ph.D., |
| 10:10 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. | Update on Long COVID and Post COVID Research Keynote Speaker: Josh Fessel, M.D., Ph.D., |
| Session 1: Diagnosing Long COVID and Identifying Risk Factors: Unresolved COVID or something more? |
|
| Chair: Gallya Gannot, D.M.D., Ph.D., National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences | |
| 10:40 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. |
Sars-CoV-2 reservoir: potential driver of inflammation and other disease mechanisms in Long COVID/PASC Amy Proal, Ph.D., |
| 11:00 a.m. - 11:20 a.m. |
Identifying who has Long COVID in the U.S.A.: a machine learning approach using N3C data Melissa Haendel, Ph.D., |
| 11:20 a.m. - 11:40 a.m. |
The Gastrointestinal Tract and Long COVID Saurabh Mehandru, M.D., |
| 11:40 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
COVID-19 sequelae – Can long-term effects be predicted? Eleni Gavriilaki, M.D., Ph.D., |
| 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. |
Panel Discussion Moderators: |
| 12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| Session 2: Classifying Long COVID and Potential Mechanisms |
|
| Chair: Joy Liu, M.D., National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases | |
| 1:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m. |
Defining the pathophysiology of Long COVID / Long COVID Subtypes (using the RECOVER platform) Upinder Singh, M.D., |
| 1:20 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. |
Immune memory of Long COVID Julie McElrath, M.D., Ph.D., |
| 1:40 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. |
Long COVID: A proposed hypothesis-driven model of viral persistence for the pathophysiology of the syndrome Joseph A. Bellanti, M.D., |
| 2:00 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. |
Epigenetic Memory of COVID-19 in innate immune cells and their progenitors Steven Z. Josefowicz, Ph.D., |
| 2:20 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. |
Panel Discussion Moderators: |
| 2:50 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
Day 1 Wrap Up Gallya Gannot, D.M.D., Ph.D., |
View agenda for September 20, 2023
Day 2: Organ-Specific Effects of Inflammation and Long COVID
| Wednesday, September 20 | Topic |
|---|---|
| 10:00 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. | Review from Day 1: Goals and Objectives Merriline Satyamitra, Ph.D., |
| 10:10 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. | Organ-Specific Inflammation and Long-COVID Keynote Speaker: Richard C. Becker, M.D., |
| Session 3: Neurological Effects |
|
| Chair: Danielle Carrick, Ph.D. M.H.S., National Cancer Institute | |
| 10:40 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. |
Covid 19: challenges for Neurology Prof. Raimund Helbok, M.D., Ph.D., |
| 11:00 a.m. - 11:20 a.m. |
Neuropathogenesis of Long-COVID Avindra Nath, M.D., |
| 11:20 a.m. - 11:40 a.m. |
Post-infectious peripheral neuropathy in Long COVID – mechanisms, diagnosis and mitigation Anne Louise Oaklander, M.D., Ph.D., |
| 11:40 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, neuroinflammation and brain fog Prof. Theoharis Theoharides, MSc, Ph.D., M.D., |
| 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. |
Panel Discussion Moderators: |
| 12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| Session 4: Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and Immunological Effects |
|
| Chair: Rao L. Divi, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute | |
| 1:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m. |
COVID-19 Associated Coagulopathy (C.A.C.) Jim Morrissey, Ph.D., |
| 1:20 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. |
Immuno-proteomics of the post-COVID19 lung and its link to pathology James Harker, Ph.D., |
| 1:40 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. |
Cardiac Pathology in Long-COVID James Stone, M.D., Ph.D., |
| 2:00 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. |
Prevention and early treatment of the long-term physical effects of COVID-19: a randomised clinical trial of resistance exercise Colin Berry, M.D., Ph.D., |
| 2:20 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. |
Panel Discussion Moderators: |
| 2:50 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
Day 2 Wrap Up Christina Liu, Ph.D., P.E., |
View agenda for September 21, 2023
Day 3: Living with Long COVID
| Thursday, September 21 | Topic |
|---|---|
| 10:00 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. | Review from Day 1 and 2: Goals and Objectives Kyung Moon, Ph.D., |
| 10:10 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. | The ins and the outs, the long and the short, of complement in COVID-19 Keynote Speaker: Edward Conway, M.D., Ph.D., |
| Session 5: Comorbidities and Long COVID - What do these chronic inflammatory conditions mean for Long COVID | |
| Chair: Mulualem E. Tilahun, D.V.M., Ph.D., National Institute of Aging | |
| 10:40 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. |
What does aging mean for Long COVID effects Shabnam Salimi, M.D., |
| 11:00 a.m. - 11:20 a.m. |
Autoimmune diseases and Long COVID Divaker Choubey, Ph.D., |
| 11:20 a.m. - 11:40 a.m. |
Long COVID, selection criteria, and representation Charisse Madlock-Brown, Ph.D., |
| 11:40 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Age of first developing overweight or obesity, COVID-19 and Long COVID in two British birth cohorts Charis Bridger Staatz, Ph.D., |
| 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. |
Panel Discussion Moderators: |
| 12:30 p.m. - 1:20 p.m. | Lunch Break |
| Session 6: Prevention and Treatment | |
| Chair: Johanna Dwyer, D.Sc. R.D., National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements | |
| 1:20 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. |
Disparities in Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (Long COVID) Dhruv Khullar, M.D., Cornell University |
| 1:40 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. |
Long COVID and Viral Persistence: Exploring Avenues for Therapies Linda C. Geng, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University |
| 2:00 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. |
Clinical experience with the α2A-adrenoceptor agonist, guanfacine, and N-acetylcysteine for the treatment of cognitive deficits in Long COVID Amy Arnsten, Ph.D., Yale University |
| 2:20 p.m. - 2:50 p.m. |
Panel Discussion Moderators: |
| 2:50 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
Panel Day 3 Wrap Up Pushpa Tandon, Ph.D., National Cancer Institute |
Meeting Materials
Contact
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