Researchers at Newcastle University are amongst experts across England to receive part of £19.6m of funding to improve understanding of the condition, from diagnosis and treatment, to rehabilitation and recovery.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has awarded funding to 15 projects to examine causes of long COVID, trial drugs to tackle it, and investigate symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness and ‘brain fog’, that have become synonymous with the condition.

Recent research shows that as many as a third of people who report being infected with the coronavirus also report long COVID. The condition can present with a number of ongoing symptoms including fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive impairment known as ‘brain fog’.

One of these projects is Percutaneous Auricular Nerve Stimulation for Treating Post-COVID Fatigue (PAuSing-Post-COVID Fatigue), which has been awarded to Newcastle University’s Dr Mark Baker. The £640,180 project will involve input from Professor Fai Ng, Deputy Lead for the NIHR Newcastle BRC’s Musculoskeletal Disease theme and Director of the NIHR Newcastle Clinical Research Facility (CRF). Professor Ng leads the way on research into fatigue as a symptom of rheumatic conditions and has carried out significant research into this area.

The above has been adapted, with thanks from the NIHR website. See here for full story