More than 41,000 took part in health research in Oxfordshire in 2023-24

People in Oxfordshire are being encouraged to sign up to learn about health research studies they can take part in after new figures show that 41,000 participated in countywide trials in the 12 months from April 2023.

They participated in studies in diverse at settings, including hospitals, community venues such as GP practices and from home via studies managed online.

More than 6,000 people across the county have also already registered with the Be Part of Research service to be contacted about studies they could take part in across specialities such as diabetes and cancer.

For the 12 months from April 2023 in Oxfordshire:

• 25,094 people were recruited into more than 500 studies at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH). 
• 2,252 people were recruited into 49 studies at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, which provides physical, mental health and social care.
• 13,876 people were recruited at 32 county GP practices

Most studies were supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), a Department of Health and Social Care-funded organisation that funds and supports the delivery of health and care research trials.

Kathryn's story

Among those who took part in research last year was West Oxfordshire's Kathryn Hedigan, who took part in the EXPLAIN study, where participants inhale hyperpolarised xenon gas to provide high quality MRI scan images. 

The study enabled researchers to identify lung abnormalities found in long COVID patients with breathlessness that could not be detected with routine tests.

Kathryn, 66, of Burford, got COVID-19 in March 2020. She said: "By September, I realised I wasn't getting any energy back. I couldn't breathe properly. When I tried to walk the dog, I could only manage a third of my usual walk, and even then, only with regular stops. 

"I kept having really strong pins and needles from the shoulder blade to the tips of the fingers of my left hand - I called it my 'taser arm'. And the fatigue - it was like boom and bust. You'd find a little bit of energy one day and do something and then you'd be wiped out for three days, feeling really grotty."

The keen bridge player also experiences 'brain fog', difficulty concentrating, managing lots of information at once, or remembering things. This worsened after she contracted COVID again in 2023.

"I used to know by heart all the bidding conventions in the form of bridge we play. I now literally have to read it before I play to remember because they're no longer lodged in my brain. I struggle to remember names or pieces of music I'm really familiar with."

Joining the study

While attending the long COVID clinic at Oxford's Churchill Hospital, the retired IT consultant was asked if she wanted to take part in the University of Oxford's EXPLAIN study, which was supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).

Participants were asked to lie in the MRI scanner and breathe in one litre of the inert gas xenon that has been hyperpolarised - a change in the electrical composition of the gas - so that it can be seen using MRI. 

As xenon behaves in a very similar way to oxygen, radiologists can observe how the gas moves from the lungs into the bloodstream. The scan takes a few minutes and, as it does not require radiation exposure, it can be repeated over time to see changes to the lungs.

Kathryn said: "I decided to take part because there are so many people out there suffering without knowing why they're suffering, and we need to know."

She said of the trial team: "They were brilliant. Every person I dealt with on the trial was delightful."

The study closed last year after recruiting 272 people in the UK, including 124 at Oxford's Churchill Hospital.

Kathryn has taken part in another long COVID-related study that analyses patterns of molecules in the blood and urine to develop a test for long COVID and better understand its underlying mechanisms.

She said: "People should consider taking part if they are suffering with anything, as they could end up helping others too, but with COVID in particular, research is so necessary, because it has not gone away."

Other studies

Other studies which recruited in the county in the 12 months from April 2023 include:

• DiscoverMe study which collects health and genetic information to increase understanding of diseases and help improve patient care. Participants enrol via participating GPs or online.
• PETS study into whether compression stockings can prevent a type of blood clot in patients undergoing short-stay surgical procedures. 
• PANORAMIC study into potential antiviral drug treatments for COVID-19, which people enrol for online and take part from home.
• PPIP2 study: a blood test to help researchers understand whether the immune system creates antibodies that can result in symptoms of psychosis and/or encephalitis, where the brain becomes swollen.

'Sheer breadth of medical research'

Professor Adrian Banning, Director of Research and Development at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), said:

"It is pleasing to see the large number of people taking part in clinical trials at our trust, and indeed across Oxfordshire. These figures reveal the sheer breadth of medical research activity taking place in our region."

The county is host to two NIHR Biomedical Research Centres, at OUH and Oxford Health, which support researchers to translate scientific discoveries into potential new treatments, diagnostics and technologies.

Pictured: Kathryn Hedigan (copyright)