An exciting year is coming to an end. While some have declared the coronavirus pandemic to be over, people affected by Long COVID are still struggling with the serious consequences of the infection. There is still no targeted treatment for Long COVID. Nevertheless, science has made some small advances in the past year that may help to better understand the condition.
For example, we were able to report on recent findings on the pathophysiology of Long COVID in a blog series. The mechanisms that take place in our body when we are sick form an important basis for the development of a therapy that fights the cause of the disease rather than treating individual symptoms.
In Switzerland, studies such as the Characteristics of Long COVID-19 Syndrome Study in Zurich and the Basel Long COVID-19 Cohort Study (BALCoS) are currently underway. The clinical data can help to better understand Long COVID. A study investigating the efficacy of the drug temelimab against Long COVID reached the target number of 200 participants this year. Initial results are expected in June 2024. Another Swiss study is investigating the drug Pycnogenol® in Long COVID patients. The University Hospital Zurich is still looking for further participants for this study.
Recommendations for the symptom-based diagnosis and treatment of Long COVID were published in August 2023 by a group of experts led by the University Hospital of Geneva and Inselspital Bern. The development was supported by the FOPH and the medical associations. The Swiss "Post-Covid Recommendations for primary care physicians" are available on Altea. A summary of the recommendations including an overview table can be found here.
We would like to thank all those affected and experts for their support!
With your support, we were able to publish 8 stories last year in which people affected by Long COVID shared their experiences and helped to raise awareness for the condition. With the help of doctors and therapists, we were also able to develop 7 new guidebooks. In addition, we have published 61 blogs on various topics this year.
We would also like to thank you for your active participation in the Altea Forum. In the last 12 months, 126 different topics have been discussed. These insights, the personal feedback from those affected and the discussions on our Altea Expert Board help us to continue to generate relevant content. In the Altea Forum, you can currently vote on which content interests you most and express your wishes to the Altea editorial team.
Altea Care app enters pilot phase
We are particularly pleased that the Altea Care App was able to enter its first test phase in November. Together with the company movos AG and a working group from Swiss insurance medicine, Altea developed a digital version of the EPOCA assessment for diagnosing and monitoring the progress of Long COVID patients. We are currently busy recruiting doctors and patients to test the app and look forward to reporting on the initial results of the pilot phase in a few months' time.
Coming up: the top 5 articles from 2023
The Altea editorial team is going on winter vacation for the next two weeks. During this time, we will re-post the five most popular blogs from this year. We are excited to see which articles made it into the top 5.
We wish everyone a relaxing end to the year and a good start to the new year. We hope that some people affected by Long COVID can end the year with improved health and that next year will bring new insights into the treatment and support options.
Your Altea Team
