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5.4 million euros for five projects at the University Medical Center Freiburg / Research into diagnostics, setting up a biosample bank and evaluating the new care structures

The University Medical Center Freiburg receives 5.4 million euros from the Federal Ministry of Health for research and care of Long COVID in children and adolescents. Projects in the Germany-wide PEDNET-LC consortium, which will receive a total of 41 million euros, are being funded. The Freiburg projects range from the investigation of genetic risk factors and imaging procedures to the evaluation of a new care structure that is to be established nationwide. In this way, patients should find faster access to specialized outpatient clinics that have expertise in the clinical picture. Freiburg is also helping to set up a central biosample bank. The location is thus contributing both scientific and practical healthcare perspectives to the project.

"The special thing about PEDNET is the close integration of clinical care, basic research and healthcare research at a national level - the University Medical Center Freiburg is making substantial contributions in all three areas," emphasizes Prof. Dr. Thorsten Langer, coordinator of the Freiburg sub-projects and head of the Social Pediatric Center at the University Medical Center Freiburg.

PEDNET-LC ("Pediatric Network for the Care and Research of Post-Acute Consequences of COVID-19, Similar Post-Acute Infection and Vaccination Syndromes and ME/CFS"). The aim of the nationwide network is to establish interdisciplinary care centers, develop uniform guidelines and conduct clinical studies and data analyses.

State-of-the-art imaging and genetics

Two translational research projects led by Dr. Roland Elling are dedicated to the question of how Long COVID manifests itself in children and adolescents on a neurobiological level. State-of-the-art MRI techniques are being used to investigate whether inflammatory processes can be detected in the brains of those affected. In parallel, genomic analyses will identify genetic risk factors associated with the disease. The aim is to develop new diagnostic approaches and potential therapeutic targets.

Biosamples for the whole of Germany

The Center for Biobanking - FREEZE of the Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg and the Freiburg University Medical Center, headed by Prof. Dr. Alexandra Nieters, plays a central role in the uniform collection and provision of high-quality biosamples. Together with the biobank of the University Hospital Dresden, a nationwide, standardized collection and processing of samples from affected children and adolescents is being established. This biobank infrastructure forms the basis for numerous accompanying research projects within the PEDNET-LC network.

Establishing care structures and promoting exchange

With PEDNET, coordination centers for those affected and those treating them are to be established in every federal state. On the one hand, patients can be cared for or referred here. On the other hand, they should support cooperation between pediatric clinics, paediatric practices, therapists and, if necessary, youth welfare offices. For Baden-Württemberg, this coordination office is located at the Social Pediatric Center under the direction of Thorsten Langer. "It is also important to integrate child and adolescent psychiatry departments into the care structure. This will further strengthen cooperation between child and adolescent psychiatry and SPCs," says Langer. In addition, the Freiburg Social Pediatric Center (SPC) supports the nationwide networking of SPCs through further training and digital case conferences. It thus represents the interface between national recommendations and regional implementation.

Understanding the reality of care, improving care

Under the leadership of the Section for Care and Rehabilitation Research (Head: Prof. Dr. Manuela Glattacker), the success of the planned regional coordination centers in the individual federal states from the perspective of the care providers involved is being investigated - and which factors facilitate or hinder this. "We need scientifically sound models - and a nationwide exchange on what works in practice - especially for complex, difficult-to-grasp clinical pictures such as long COVID in children," says Langer.