Technical Associate I Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
Disclosure(s):
Marina Dixon: No financial relationships to disclose
Introduction/Rationale: The Mucosal And systEmic Signatures Triggered by Responses to infectious Organisms (MAESTRO) Study aims to explore potential biomarkers to explain how infection-associated chronic illnesses (IACI) affect some patients but not others, and the different ways in which they do so. This information can guide further research into diagnosing, treating, and preventing IACIs.
Methods: The IACIs of focus are the long-lasting symptoms following acute infections of Borrelia burgdorferi and SARS-CoV-2, Long Lyme and Long COVID, respectively. Each participant contributes self-reported symptoms, surveys, tests for autonomic dysfunction, vital signs, reaction time tests, neurocognitive tests including eyetracking and electroencephalography (EEG) assessments, and various biological samples including blood, urine, sweat, throat swab, saliva, vaginal swab, and rectal swab. Throughout a study visit, an earpiece, Lumia, is used to measure blood flow to the brain and heart rate.
Results: During a NASA Lean Test, variations in proxy cerebral perfusion are compared to changes in traditional vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation) and observed physical signs and symptoms (blood pooling, lightheadedness, etc).
Conclusion: Analyses of these data may indicate a potential connection between autonomic function and proxy cerebral perfusion throughout various activities.
