POTS - Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

Postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a common and disabling disorder among adolescents. No epidemiologic data exist to support the often cited 0.5 to 2% prevalence. Case series suggest 3 to 5 times greater incidence in girls than boys. POTS is defined in children as daily chronic symptoms of orthostatic intolerance and a 40 bpm rise in heart rate in the first 10 minutes of a tilt study in the absence of orthostatic hypotension. POTS often develops after an acute event like an illness, infection, immunization, head trauma, psychological trauma or surgery. Natural history data are absent for POTS, though some outcome studies exist. Orthostatic symptoms improve in the majority and heart rate changes improve in 38% at 1 year. A 2-year follow up showed small improvement in comorbid symptoms of POTS in a 12 subject cohort followed yearly. In a pediatric 5-year outcome follow up questionnaire study, 86% of adolescents with POTS reported resolved, improved, or intermittent, symptoms, with primarily physical rather than mental health complaints.

RESET-POTS is a pilot study for adults with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition that can cause a rapid increase in heart rate, dizziness, weakness, fatigue and other symptoms when standing. The study has two parts. In the first part, patients with POTS and healthy volunteers will undergo several tests to better understand how POTS affects heart rate and blood pressure, the autonomic nervous system, hormones, metabolism, blood sugar regulation, brain and muscle oxygenation, and quality of life. In the second part, eligible patients with POTS will receive a stellate ganglion block, a procedure in which a local anaesthetic is injected near nerves in the neck that are involved in sympathetic nervous system activity. The procedure will be performed on the right and left sides on separate days. Participants will then be reassessed about 2 weeks and 3 months later. The main goals are to determine whether the study procedures are practical and well tolerated, whether the nerve block can be performed successfully and safely, and whether there are signs of changes in POTS-related body functions and symptoms.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a disorder of unknown origin characterized by orthostatic intolerance and increased heart rate (HR) of ≥ 30 beats/minute during orthostasis in the absence of orthostatic hypotension. In addition to the orthostatic intolerance and tachycardia, patients with POTS experience several debilitating symptoms including light-headedness, nausea, blurred vision, fatigue, mental confusion ("brain-fog"), chest pain and gastrointestinal problems. Several potential underlying mechanisms have been suggested for POTS including autonomic denervation, hypovolemia, hyperadrenergic stimulation and autoantibodies against adrenergic receptors. However, none of these proposed mechanisms has yet led to an effective treatment. Physical activity is recommended as a complimentary treatment in POTS in international guidelines. However, less is known regarding how physical activity could successfully be implemented in clinical practice in patients with POTS. Thus, in the current study, we aim to assess the effect of a 16-week specialized physical activity program in POTS.

The unhide® Project is a non-interventional, longitudinal research study designed to establish a secure data repository of demographic, health, and lifestyle information from individuals with brain inflammation and related neuroinflammatory conditions. Participants in the United States aged 2 years and older will provide self-reported health data, biometrics, and symptom diaries through the MyDataHelps™ app (branded as unhide® for this study). The goal is to create comprehensive longitudinal profiles to facilitate research into disease subtypes, causes, diagnostics, and potential treatments, as well as to identify potential participants for future optional studies. "Healthy" individuals without brain inflammation are also eligible to participate. The digital health research platform used in this study was originally developed and designed by Solve M.E and was called SolveTogether. The Brain Inflammation Collaborative (BIC) expanded upon Solve M.E.'s work to include related diagnoses, pediatric participants, enhance symptom tracking, and more. BIC and Solve M.E. combined Solve Together and unhide®, to create The unhide® Solve Together Unified Platform in 2025.

The investigators hope to learn if low sodium oxybate (LXB) is an effective treatment for symptoms of idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) and postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Previous research has shown that patients with IH also report having symptoms associated with POTS. The researchers have observed that in patients with both IH and POTS, when patients' sleep quality improves, so do their POTS symptoms. The goal of this study is to test this in a controlled way by using LXB as a treatment for both IH and POTS in patients that have been diagnosed with both conditions.