# Heat Therapy for the treatment of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA OMAHA · 2024 · $665,766

## Abstract

Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) affects 5 out of 10 patients hospitalized for the
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and ~11% of all adults infected by SARS-CoV-2, which makes this
condition a growing public health concern. It is associated with important disabilities, cognitive dysfunction, and
increased risks for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Although exercise-based intervention is a promising
rehabilitation strategy, participation rates are commonly low in clinical population. In addition, post-exertional
malaise, a common symptom with PASC, is a major safety concern in these patients, which may prevent a
significant proportion of these individuals to receive adequate rehabilitation. In this context, there is a critical
need to develop well-tolerated and effective strategies at home that ameliorates health and functional capacity
in individuals with PASC. One promising approach that offers numerous health benefits is whole-body heat
therapy. Whether this intervention is effective when confined to the lower body and well tolerated at home in
people with PASC is, however, unknown. The overall objective of this project is to determine the safety,
tolerability, and efficacy of home-based lower body heat therapy in late middle-age and older adults with
PASC. We will test the central hypothesis that home-based lower body heat therapy is safe, well adhered, and
can improve functional capacity and several surrogate markers for metabolic and vascular health in late-middle
age and older adults with PASC. Specific Aim 1 will test the hypothesis that lower body heat therapy at home is
safe, well adhered, and improve both cognitive and physical function in middle-age and older adults with
PASC. Selected participants will be randomly allocated to perform 8 weeks of home-based lower body heat
therapy (HT, skin temperature 38-40˚C, 40-55 min, 5 per week at home), a thermoneutral condition (CT, skin
temperature 33˚C, same duration and frequency), or a walking intervention using wearable technology (WT,
1,500-3,000 additional steps from baseline, 3-5 days per week). We will compare the 6 min walking distance,
the short physical performance battery test score, gait speed, cognitive function, incidence of adverse events,
and participant’s adherence to intervention between groups. Specific Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that heat
therapy will attenuate inflammation, which will then decrease arterial stiffness, and improve both vascular
endothelial function and muscle intracellular O2 availability in individuals with PASC. We will use in vitro assays
on blood samples and Doppler ultrasound techniques to assess changes in inflammation, redox status, pulse-
wave velocity, and flow-mediated dilation. Muscle intracellular O2 availability will be measured by magnetic
resonance spectroscopy in vivo. Specific Aim 3 will test the hypothesis that lower body heat therapy will
improve glucose control as a result of enhanced mitochondrial function....

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10980009
- **Project number:** 1R01AG089307-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA OMAHA
- **Principal Investigator:** GWENAEL LAYEC
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $665,766
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-03 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10980009

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10980009, Heat Therapy for the treatment of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (1R01AG089307-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10980009. Licensed CC0.

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