Neurodiversity, COVID and overlap with hypermobility and inflammatory conditions

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Summary 

There is an emerging picture of overlap e.g. autism, ADHD and health issues such as chronic fatigue, brain-fog, concentration, anxiety difficulties. Overlapping symptoms can confuse psychological with physiological causes. Neurodivergent people, who are more likely to have hypermobility, connective tissue and autoimmune conditions, have also been disproportionately impacted by long COVID, which can exacerbate or bring on these symptoms. 

The rise in neurodiversity cases since the pandemic is in part due to increased awareness, but also because psychiatric symptoms have worsened due to this overlap. Very little is known about these emerging co-occurrences but preliminary evidence suggests that we can get people back to work and improve their capacity with a range of simple treatments, escalating to more complex interventions such as rTMS for the most severely affected. 

Given the absence crisis, identification of cases in Occupational Health and correct referral to treatment could be transformational. Follow this link for an introductory paper on the overlap between neurodiversity and inflammatory conditions, and how these affect cognition and functioning: Prevalence and treatment response of neuropsychiatric disorders in mast cell activation syndrome - ScienceDirect

Chair: Dr Nancy Doyle C. Psychol.

Nancy Doyle holds a visiting Professorship at Birkbeck and is a Registered Occupational Psychologist. She founded Genius Within, a neurodiversity at work specialist consultancy business which sees thousands of referrals each year. Nancy has reached out to the medical profession to try to understand why, after 25 years in practice, she is suddenly seeing not just a rise in cases, but an increase in severity of concentration and fatigue within her client group.
Nancy will be joined by Dr Stephanie Barrett, an award winning, highly trained and widely experienced consultant rheumatologist and general physician and an industry leader in the field of rheumatology, osteoporosis and inflammatory arthritis.

She is an expert in Fibromyalgia, hypermobility and Post-Covid fatigue. Dr Barrett is at the forefront of new technologies and treatments for conditions such as Fibromyalgia, chronic pain and post-Covid fatigue. She is a specialist in rTMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation).
Formerly a lead consultant of rheumatology at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, she is currently the Medical Director of the Chelsea Rheumatology Clinic and founder of The Brainwave Clinic in Harley Street, working with like minded rheumatology colleagues. She is included in all the published Tatler’s 250 top doctors guides.

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