COVID-19 has been an unprecedented event in human history. The world has witnessed multiple pandemics before, such as the Spanish Flu of 1918, the Asian Flu of 1957, the Hong Kong Flu of 1968, and the Swine Flu of 2009. Similarly, the scale and intensity of the most recent, COVID-19 were as great as all the previous pandemics. All these viral infections started as an epidemic and then spread to a pandemic level leading to the loss of thousands of lives. All of these pandemics exposed the under-preparedness of the healthcare sector of various countries and their inability to cope with an outbreak of such a massive scale.
The healthcare sector of various countries including the developed ones was taken aback by the severity of the virus and the intensity with which it was spreading among the public. Different methods were being tried by the healthcare sector to cure patients; however, none of them actually knew which medicines and methods would work for the patients. Social distancing was prescribed to the public in order to curtail the spread of the virus along with smart lockdowns at the state level.
Various researchers and healthcare professionals started research on the virus. Vaccines were being developed by different companies and mass vaccination drives were being carried out. Healthcare professionals were continuously researching to discover treatments for various symptoms of viral infections experienced by patients. One such researcher is Arianna Di Stadio, who discovered a treatment for anosmia (smell deficit) and ageusia (taste deficit) in COVID-19-affected patients. Her treatment – a combination between olfactory training and an anti-neuroinflammation molecule (PEA-LUT) – is currently used in different countries. Loss of smell and taste were two of the most common symptoms experienced by COVID patients. Both of these persisted in individuals even after being cured of the virus. Di Stadio’s research focuses on curing smell loss among COVID patients.
Arianna Di Stadio is a surgeon, neuroscientist, professor, and clinical researcher. Di Stadio was born in Rome, Italy, and has lived in Boston, Paris, Brussels, and London. Di Stadio graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from La Sapienza University, Rome in 1999. She completed her residency at La Sapienza University in Otolaryngology in 2003 and finished her Ph.D. in Advanced Audiology Technologies in 2007. Di Stadio has a bright academic record, which can be gauged by the fact that she won the EAFPS fellowship in 2008. There are only three positions in this fellowship that are available in Europe. She worked as a Clinical Fellow at the European Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery, which is the organization collecting the top-ranked centers for facial plastic and reconstructive surgery in Europe. Dr. Di Stadio pays her best regards to this fellowship that enabled her to work in the foremost European centers of facial plastic surgery.
In 2011, she completed her Clinical Fellowship in Microsurgery at the University of Paris and became a Clinical Fellow in Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Bordeaux Segalen University in 2014. She became a Senior Research Fellow in Otology and Laryngology at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts in 2015. She pursued a Master’s in Applied Biostatic from Harvard University, Massachusetts, in 2017, followed by another Master’s in Implantable Hearing Prosthesis from the University La Sapienza in 2021. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Clinical Neurology from UCL Queen Square Neurology, London.
Di Stadio does not only have a bright academic career but has served as a visiting faculty member at different medical centers including the University of Bologna, La Sapienza University, the University of Perugia, and the University of Tor Vergata. Currently, she is an Associate Professor at the University of Catania. She has been serving as an Honorary Research Associate at Neuroinflammation Laboratory, UCL, London, since 2019.
Di Stadio has conducted research on neuroinflammation and its relationship with Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s Disease. She has been a consultant for research development in clinical trials for Cochlear Europe and other medical industries. Di Stadio patented the first software for analyses of prosody (the rhythm of speech) (DAAR) in deafness patients who were implanted with a cochlear implant in 2007. She also patented OTOAGE and MY FACE COMPLEX oral supplements in 2013 and Research Look online Platform in 2015.
Di Stadio is a published author. She has written chapters for various books including Translational Autoimmunity (Volume 4): Autoimmune Disease in Different Organs, Advance in the Rehabilitation of Hearing Loss, Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment, Facial Paralysis: Clinical Features, Management, and Outcomes, Hearing Loss: Medical-Legal Aspect. She is an ad hoc reviewer and editor of multiple journals.
Treatments for contagious viruses like COVID-19 are discovered because of individuals like Arianna Di Stadio. Without the relentless efforts of healthcare professionals and researchers, it is impossible to identify and discover treatments for the effects of such transmissible viruses. The commitment and dedication of such researchers continue the cycle of discovery in the world and make room for new inventions.
