- 6 hours ago
Lena has been living with Long Covid for years. With a method called 'pacing', she’s learned to shepherd her strength, avoid setbacks and regain hope. Every step is a victory on the path to a better quality of life.
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01:12I'm extremely grateful and happy about the progress I've made over the years.
01:16You do give up a lot.
01:18But of course, my goal is somehow to get my own.
01:22Instead of training at falling...
01:24Instead of training at falling...
01:26...intensity as she used to, Lena now has to carefully monitor...
01:30...any exertion...
01:32...also in everyday life.
01:34She's supervised by Christian Puta in Jena.
01:38Exactly.
01:39How much strain she can tolerate...
01:41...depends on how she's doing that day.
01:43To a...
01:44...dettle to the Folk and Wendy's head...
01:46...she starts out by measuring her pulse.
01:47That's the point I don't think it is...
01:48That is why it's important to tatsächlich...
01:52...to get through the track of the pace.
01:55It's clear that...
01:57...to get through the type of rotation at King.
02:01You might think it's important to take periods of the time.
02:03But the pressure of the unravel...
02:05You know...
02:06It's clear that things...
02:07In your heart it's clear...
02:09You know...
02:09You may see...
02:10A high point.
02:11You almost don't want to take care...
02:12...to get through Ben.
02:13The goal would be to get that deviation down to just three to five beats.
02:18From night to night, the fluctuations in her resting heart
02:23rate indicates she takes a lot of time to recover.
02:28During the pandemic, we learned it was an important marker.
02:33The system should really calm down at night, which means you can use it
02:38to predict whether symptoms might get worse the next day.
02:43No matter how badly someone's affected, long COVID suffering
02:48sufferers all share something in common, an intolerance of physical stress.
02:53Even everyday exertions can make symptoms dramatically worse, causing
02:58what's known as post-exertional malaise, often just called a crash.
03:03The effects can last for days or even months.
03:06That's why managing exertions
03:08function through pacing is crucial.
03:10Just a example.
03:12You have a track.
03:13A simple example.
03:14Say you want to walk a distance of one kilometer.
03:18If I'm in a situation where I know that,
03:21then I also know that I have to
03:23adjust my pace and my energy use per unit of time.
03:28It could mean I can't walk that kilometer in 10 minutes.
03:33I mean...
03:33I need 20.
03:34Or I might have to split the walk up into sections.
03:38I need to consider both total energy and partial energy and pace myself.
03:43And that's incredibly difficult to implement in daily life.
03:48Second check.
03:49Lena's recovery heart rate.
03:52A parade.
03:53A parameter that provides information on energy reserves left after exertion.
03:57Three.
03:58Three.
03:59Zwo.
04:00Eins.
04:01Los.
04:02Lena performs the sit to stand test.
04:03For one minute.
04:04She stands up as often as she can.
04:06Puta measures.
04:08her pulse immediately afterward and again a minute later.
04:12The difference between the...
04:13Two.
04:14The recovery heart rate should be at least 12 beats.
04:17Yeah.
04:18I'm...
04:18The one minute sit to stand test works for people like Lena who are...
04:23no longer severely affected but also for more severe cases.
04:27It can...
04:28help them assess their current condition.
04:33It helps me a lot to check whether I really feel good to...
04:38what I do today.
04:39If I can manage things.
04:40It gives you the confidence to be physically active.
04:43... sportlich betätigen to können.
04:46Wilhelm Bloch has been supporting...
04:48Lena for five years.
04:50He studies the cellular mechanisms of long COVID.
04:53and has shown that in affected patients oxygen transport in the body...
04:58it doesn't work properly.
05:00Targeted training aims to improve that like...
05:03always making sure she feels recovered before continuing.
05:07During short...
05:08...
05:08intense interval training the muscles work without oxygen.
05:13The problem in post-COVID patients is often that there's...
05:18enough oxygen in the blood.
05:20It just doesn't leave the blood.
05:22My goal is...
05:23to improve the release of that oxygen.
05:28When...
05:28stimulated by the intense intervals...
05:30muscles can absorb oxygen better during...
05:33rest phases and recover more effectively.
05:38What's causing...
05:38the exhaustion is visible under the microscope.
05:41In long COVID patients...
05:43the red blood cells responsible for oxygen transport...
05:46are deformed in...
05:48unusual ways.
05:49It was...
05:50...
05:53these changes mean the red blood cells...
05:56can't release oxygen.
05:58properly...
05:59so the organs receive less oxygen...
06:02and the brain is...
06:03...
06:03particularly sensitive.
06:04That's why...
06:08with the condition...
06:09we also see...
06:10cognitive impairments...
06:11changes in someone's ability...
06:13...
06:13to think clearly.
06:14...
06:16These findings...
06:17led to the...
06:18development of tribal training...
06:20which Lena is learning about today.
06:22It's the first...
06:23training program...
06:24to take individual exertion limits...
06:26into account.
06:27As you can see...
06:28the trainer shows her...
06:30how to optimize it...
06:31training...
06:33training is recommended...
06:34two to four times a week...
06:36for months...
06:37or even years...
06:38German public health insurance...
06:41providers will pay...
06:42for the program...
06:43but so far...
06:44few physiotherapists...
06:45have been trained...
06:46to provide it.
06:48It takes time...
06:49discipline...
06:50and patience...
06:51but can pay off.
06:53what we see...
06:55is that...
06:56even severely affected...
06:57patients...
06:58can experience...
06:59a real increase...
07:00in quality of life...
07:02and in...
07:03... James...
07:04...to think...
07:05that...
07:06then...
07:06that...
07:07クラシ avait...
07:08a real cái...
07:09to think...
07:10enzyme olhaRock...
07:11that...
07:12so here....
07:13like...
07:14you piens...
07:15on...
07:16like...
07:17���...
07:18what's like...
07:19that...
07:20you piens...
07:21that...
07:22you...
07:23to believe,
07:24oh...
07:25you...
07:27Also...
07:28if...
07:30that...
07:31that...
07:32once were.
07:36For those affected,
07:37long COVID remains a major limitation.
07:42But for those who are...
07:42were no longer bedridden,
07:44practicing pacing,
07:46striking the right balance between...
07:47recovery and activity
07:49can bring significant progress.
07:52Long COVID...
07:57can cause what's called brain fog.
07:59And some studies indicate
08:01it might even...
08:02to raise the risk
08:03of developing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
08:06Although there's still no...
08:07firm evidence
08:08that cases have surged
08:09since the pandemic.
08:11Caring for a...
08:12relative with the condition.
08:14Verena Jalas knows what that means.
08:17Her grandfather had Alzheimer's.
08:19Now she's a researcher in the field
08:21and shares...
08:22with her story at Science Slam events.
08:25Go Cesar!
08:27Verena Jalas knows how to please a crowd.
08:31Her topic of choice...
08:32is what are called neurodegenerative diseases,
08:34like Alzheimer's.
08:36Her own...
08:37grandfather suffered from the condition.
08:39She shared an apartment with him...
08:41for many years...
08:42and once I found grandpa...
08:44and once I found grandpa...
08:46and once I found grandpa...
08:47sitting with three strangers...
08:48talking about the Bible...
08:49and he wasn't even religious.
08:51Turning...
08:52turned out he was bored...
08:53because the TV was supposedly...
08:55broken.
08:57And when three Jehovah's Witnesses...
09:00rang the doorbell...
09:01he let them in.
09:02on the condition...
09:03that one would go buy cake...
09:05another would make coffee...
09:07and the third would clean up...
09:08the living room table...
09:09because that was actually...
09:10his task for the day.
09:12and he didn't feel like doing it.
09:13From the stage...
09:15to university hospital...
09:17in Cologne...
09:18where Verena Giales...
09:19researches brain disease...
09:21with help from a...
09:22computer game...
09:23study subjects play...
09:25while inside...
09:26an MRI scanner...
09:27the setup allows...
09:28the researchers...
09:29to detect...
09:30motor impairments...
09:31caused by disease...
09:32early on.
09:34We know more about...
09:36the universe...
09:37and about our own brains...
09:38we basically have no idea...
09:40how one really works...
09:41with artificial...
09:42intelligence...
09:43we're trying to recreate it...
09:44to generate...
09:45artificially...
09:46the intelligence...
09:47our brains give...
09:47the universe...
09:48but we still don't know...
09:49how one works...
09:50and I find that...
09:51incredibly fascinating.
09:52as is the overlap...
09:54between research...
09:55and science slam...
09:57two worlds...
09:58united by one concept...
09:59communicating knowledge...
10:01the doctor...
10:02the doctoral student...
10:03enjoys the challenges...
10:04inherent...
10:05in presenting...
10:06her research...
10:07on stage...
10:07I think what really...
10:10separates...
10:11a good slam...
10:12from a great...
10:12one...
10:13is when it's not just...
10:14funny...
10:15but when you genuinely...
10:16try to represent...
10:17your own research...
10:17well...
10:18of course...
10:19I can't go into...
10:20the statistical models...
10:21behind it...
10:22but there's always...
10:23a core message...
10:24what matters...
10:25is conveying that...
10:26and showing what's...
10:27behind the research...
10:28and bringing...
10:29everyone along...
10:30for the ride...
10:32among the eight...
10:35participants...
10:36some are less...
10:37funny...
10:37some more so...
10:38this researcher...
10:39talks for instance...
10:40about his work...
10:41involving a male...
10:42contraceptive...
10:43pill...
10:44and...
10:45I was...
10:46I was...
10:47at my sister's...
10:48birthday party...
10:49last week...
10:50and people always...
10:51ask what I do...
10:52for a living...
10:52usually they're...
10:53interested in my research...
10:54for about...
10:55one minute...
10:56but want to spend...
10:57fifteen...
10:57talking about...
10:58where we get...
10:59our sperm from...
11:00simple answer...
11:01from volunteers...
11:02to their stomach...
11:03that...
11:04military donors...
11:05who come in...
11:06once a week...
11:07deliver and get...
11:08paid...
11:09a place where you give blood, so you can come by, take stuff like sperm or blood out of
11:14your body.
11:14I love this story and I love all the things that you have to do.
11:19The second to last performer to hit the stage, she effortlessly combines science
11:24and scientific explanations with relaxed entertainment.
11:29In stroke patients, brain cells don't do so well, but brain cells, fun fact, are actually
11:34kind of drama queens.
11:35So they first just panic in general, and then if one cell
11:39actually dies, the others start panicking even more, so much that they die too.
11:44Even though they wouldn't really have to.
11:49My heart burns for science.
11:51I love my job and view it as a privilege to have found something I'm
11:54so passionate about.
11:55I wake up excited to go to work.
11:57I learn something new every day.
11:59I work with smart young people, develop my own ideas.
12:04And I'd love to pursue a professorship and stay in academia.
12:09The other Slammers feel the same.
12:14The topics are wide-ranging.
12:15One simplifies complex worksheets, another is producing
12:19glucose from old socks.
12:21The audience is captivated.
12:24Casual, funny, fast, very different topics.
12:29And you really learn something.
12:30You can totally watch this.
12:34It's great entertainment even when the topics are not.
12:36Not once did I think, oh man.
12:39When will this be over?
12:40Instead, it's always kind of sad when it ends.
12:43You think, why?
12:44Wow, they learned so much and combined it with humor.
12:49At the end of the show, the audience also acts as a jury.
12:54Science-Slam-Meisterin 2025, Verena.
12:59Happy Glückwunsch!
13:01Verena Giales takes the laurels.
13:04It's a testament to her topic and her talent.
13:07I know that my topic is...
13:09touches a lot of people, but that it resonated with so many this time.
13:14The fact that I won the title is amazing.
13:16But even more so is that events like this even...
13:19that science fills 800-seed auditoriums on a Saturday.
13:24That's the unbelievable part.
13:26Though, of course, going home with a prize is nice.
13:29One challenge completed.
13:33Now the next...
13:34The next awaits Verena Giales.
13:36She still has to wrap up her doctoral thesis.
13:39There's still no stand-
13:44There's still no standard treatment for Alzheimer's.
13:46So patients trying to slow or halt...
13:49Despite the progression of the disease, often choose to try therapies
13:52whose effectiveness hasn't yet...
13:54been scientifically proven.
13:56Like one called transcranial pulse...
14:00streamset stimulation
14:03Daniela...
14:04Justa visits her mother Anita every single day.
14:08Anita suffers from Alzheimer's.
14:09Her daughter began to notice that something was wrong around two years ago.
14:14We were at a restaurant and had ordered.
14:19Dessert and were wondering why it wasn't coming.
14:24Out of nowhere suddenly said,
14:26Well, I guess it's time to head home.
14:28And I said,
14:29But we ordered dessert.
14:31And my mom said,
14:32No, we didn't.
14:33That's...
14:34When it really hit me.
14:35Is me this so richtig bewusst geworden.
14:38A shot.
14:39After a mock diagnosis, Anita had always been active and independent.
14:44I'm actually ashamed of it.
14:47You're not supposed to.
14:49You're not supposed to be.
14:50But that's just how I feel.
14:55It's just bad.
14:56It's just bad.
14:57It's just bad.
14:58It's not bad actually.
14:59Waltraud Falla also suffers from Alzheimer's.
15:02Her partner Wolfgang began...
15:04...noticing changes.
15:05What got worse first was finding worse.
15:07What got worse first was finding worse.
15:09Words, forming sentences, household tasks, things she used to manage easily.
15:14It became impossible.
15:15Even after years of living with me, she'd suddenly ask...
15:19Where's the toilet?
15:20Where's the toilet?
15:21People who have Alzheimer's...
15:24...lose more and more brain functions over time.
15:27To slow down...
15:29...the process, psychiatrist Alexander Schwartz is treating Waltraud Falla with trans...
15:34...cranial pulse stimulation, or TPS.
15:37It's a kind of shockwave therapy for...
15:39...the brain.
15:40Alzheimer's is a disease that progresses...
15:44...gradually.
15:45Over time, you lose abilities little by little.
15:47The main goal is to...
15:49...to slow that process, ideally to stop it or significantly decelerate it.
15:54TPS is a very promising method in this regard.
15:57It activates growth factors...
15:59...improves blood flow in the brain...
16:01...stimulates blood vessel formation...
16:03...and...
16:04...and enhances nutrient supply as well as the removal of waste products.
16:09The method has been approved for Alzheimer's treatment since 2018.
16:14An MRI scan of the patient is loaded into the device...
16:18...and the system...
16:19...is calibrated individually.
16:21The shockwaves travel through the...
16:24...the skull and penetrate up to eight centimeters...
16:26...stimulating the brain.
16:28How does it feel?
16:29You barely feel anything.
16:32I don't feel it at all.
16:34Each 30-minute session delivers 6,000 pulses.
16:39It's a very safe method that's been applied many times.
16:44Side effects are rare.
16:46Occasionally it causes mild headaches or fatigue afterwards.
16:49Contraindications are few.
16:51They include, for instance, strong blood thinners.
16:54...or perhaps brain lesions...
16:55...or implanted medical devices.
16:57In...
16:59...in Germany...
17:00...statutory health insurance won't cover the treatment.
17:03Six sessions...
17:04...cost around 3,000 euros.
17:07Reports about TPS often...
17:09...can sound too good to be true.
17:11Is it?
17:12Neuroanatomy professor Christoph...
17:14...Schmitz has studied shockwave therapies for years.
17:17He questions how effective...
17:19...or TPS is for treating Alzheimer's.
17:21First, we...
17:24...we have to ask how much of the shockwave actually reaches the brain.
17:28Then the next...
17:29...the next question is...
17:30...does it reach the regions relevant for Alzheimer's pathology?
17:33Like the...
17:34...establish the hippocampus...
17:35...which lies deep inside the brain.
17:37...and the question is...
17:38...will they reach the...
17:39...the hippocampus?
17:40...which lies deep inside the brain.
17:41...we have to ask...
17:42passed through tissue, but we don't really know how.
17:47We need to take proper measurements. As long as they are missing completely,
17:52we can't make reliable statements about what it can do to the brain.
17:57The hippocampus is located here.
18:02A new study co-funded by the device manufacturer has been published.
18:07It involved 60 subjects and suggests younger patients may
18:12benefit more. The German Society for Clinical Neurophysiology
18:17and Functional Imaging, the DGKN, reviewed the results and concluded
18:22the newly published first randomized controlled trial for
18:27in April 2025 on TPS and people with Alzheimer's delivered
18:32no clear evidence of effectiveness.
18:37Neurologist Lars Wojcicki, however, believes TPS has potential.
18:42He's currently conducting a larger study.
18:46It is correct.
18:47It's true that existing studies don't provide sufficient proof of
18:52efficiency.
18:52But we do see indications of possible effects that TPS might
18:57have on patients, on memory, concentration, but also mood.
19:02There are signs that it might cause brain networks both
19:07the electrical and the structural networks to change, possibly by
19:12impacting clean-up processes in the brain associated with these networks.
19:17Even without confirmation that it's effective, TPS is a ray of hope
19:22for Waltraud Faller.
19:24I can cook again.
19:27For a while, I kept saying, I can't do it anymore.
19:32Now I can make one-pot stews again and things like that, which is very
19:37important to me.
19:38It's very important to me.
19:40Her doctor is glad to hear it.
19:42In about two-thirds of patients, we are
19:47already seeing improvements early on.
19:49That's encouraging.
19:50Often it's changes to every day.
19:52Things like being happy when grandchildren come for a visit or agreeing to go for a walk.
19:57I can walk again.
19:58Anita Schuster is also receiving TPS.
20:02Although it's still unclear whether it truly helps, her daughter says she
20:07notices a change.
20:08It's not getting worse, and she's just
20:12generally more alert and in a good mood.
20:17mother and daughter are now looking forward to an upcoming family trip to the U.S.
20:22What to Okinawa in Japan?
20:27What Sardinia in Italy and Nicoya in Costa Rica have in common?
20:32People there, on average, live exceptionally long lives.
20:36There are many...
20:37There are two centenarians in all three.
20:39The same goes for Tula Mela in South Africa.
20:42Although she's a little...
20:46Although she's a little...
20:47unsteady on her feet, that doesn't stop her from dancing.
20:51She's always...
20:52loved having life around her and music.
20:55Chikakisa Maguro is one...
20:57105.
20:58My husband had five wives, but...
21:02three passed away.
21:03Even though there were so many of us, we lived together peacefully.
21:07Chikakisa Maguro lives in a small community called...
21:12Tula Mela, set in the green hills of northern South Africa.
21:17Usually large number of people here live to be 100 or older.
21:22Currently, it's home to more than 500 centenarians.
21:26Life is simple.
21:27in tune with nature, shaped by mutual respect.
21:31100 years...
21:3230-year-old Nia Wazetsa Nematombini is one of the younger elders in the village.
21:37She still works in her garden every day.
21:42I get tired if I just sit around.
21:44So I move when I can, and I pull weeds.
21:47She eats just once a day, usually...
21:52She lays porridge with spinach.
21:54She's eaten simple foods all her life.
21:57She lives in her family.
21:58Four generations live under one roof.
22:00Her great-granddaughter is...
22:02She's two.
22:03Nia Wazetsa Nematombini had six children, three...
22:07For safety.
22:08But all the time, we have passed away.
22:09Experts say aging healthily depends not only...
22:11On genetics of many natural skin...
22:12And human selves, humans get together on race
22:17In���ada for color...
22:18Three days, remember?
22:19And for ever if I ever do...
22:21One happened...
22:22Here, everything was quite as a family,
22:23Here you go.
22:24Two decades...
22:25Are brains...
22:26Two decades...
22:27Obliv.
22:28One
22:33Two decades,
22:35I reached this age because I learned how to
22:40listen. I always listened to my parents, even when they corrected me.
22:45Because I knew they were preparing me for life.
22:50Listening, accepting, letting go, moving on.
22:55Perhaps that's the secret behind Tula Mela's centenarians.
22:59They've mastered the...
23:00the art of simply letting old age happen.
23:05So how do you manage to live that long?
23:08Nutritionists would say a good start would
23:10be to cut back on meat and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables,
23:14which...
23:15That brings us to a question sent by a viewer in Morocco.
23:19Why are so...
23:20How many fruits and vegetables round?
23:23In botanical terms, a fruit...
23:25is what develops from a flower, usually pollinated.
23:28It's a structure that contains...
23:30and protects the plant's seeds.
23:33So strictly speaking...
23:35lots of what we call vegetables are actually fruits.
23:38And fruits come in all kinds of...
23:40different kinds of shapes and sizes.
23:41But their final form?
23:43That's determined by its gene.
23:45Genes regulate things like the size of the plant's cells...
23:49or how they...
23:50divide.
23:51Researchers have identified specific genes for...
23:55nutrients that make a tomato grow to be pear-shaped.
23:58Oval.
24:00Or the classic sphere.
24:02And the same mechanisms might determine shapes of fruit...
24:05and other plants as well.
24:07But why are so many fruits...
24:10a miracle?
24:11This is where we have to speculate a little.
24:13Still, scientists have a few...
24:15compelling theories.
24:16First, efficiency.
24:18A sphere is the 3D gene...
24:20geometric shape...
24:21where the smallest surface area...
24:22encloses the greatest volume.
24:24That...
24:25means a round fruit plant has to produce less peel...
24:28to cover more edible pulp.
24:30Less wrapper...
24:31more snack.
24:32Second, impact.
24:34When a...
24:35ripe fruit drops from the plant...
24:37a spherical shape distributes the mechanical stress...
24:40well when it hits the ground...
24:42and if it falls on an incline...
24:44a sphere rolls...
24:45carrying its seed payload...
24:47farther away from its parent.
24:50Then any seedlings that grow from the fallen fruit...
24:53don't have to compete as much with their...
24:55originator for resources like sunlight...
24:57and water.
24:59Finally...
25:00many plant species rely on animals...
25:03for seed dispersal...
25:04offering a food...
25:05reward...
25:06in exchange for the service.
25:07Along with the fruit's color and scent...
25:10the ground shapes might have evolved...
25:11as an easy to spot visual cue...
25:13saying...
25:14here I am...
25:15eat me.
25:16So...
25:17it isn't just coincidence...
25:19plants evolved...
25:20round fruit...
25:21it's one of the most common shapes...
25:23found in nature.
25:25what are stars made of...
25:28how many colors...
25:29how many colors...
25:30can butterflies see?
25:32could robots have babies one day?
25:34do you...
25:35if you have a science question...
25:36then send it to us...
25:37as a video...
25:38text...
25:39or voice...
25:40message...
25:41if we answer it on the show...
25:42then we'll send you...
25:43a little gift...
25:44as a thank you.
25:45so go on...
25:46just ask.
25:50that wraps things up...
25:52thanks for joining us...
25:53and see you again next...
25:55time...
25:56on Tomorrow Today...
25:57bye-bye!
26:00bye-bye!
26:01bye-bye!
26:05bye-bye!
26:10bye-bye!
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