The Unified Platform Now Open to Pediatric Participants Ages 2+
Families Can Now Join Groundbreaking Digital Health Research
For too long, children and teenagers have not been able to narrate the lived experience of their illnesses themselves, and their voices have been missing from clinical research.”
DELAFIELD, WI, UNITED STATES, October 13, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Brain Inflammation Collaborative (BIC) is proud to announce that The unhide® Solve Together Unified Platform will begin accepting pediatric participants ages 2 and up starting October 13th, 2025.— Dr. Megan Fitzgerald
“Most clinical and research studies exclude children and teens, which means they are missing from crucial data used to improve diagnosis, treatments, and outcomes,” said Natasha Graves, MPH, MBA, CHES of BIC. Research involving children and teens is typically challenging scientifically, ethically, and recruitment-wise. Traditional barriers to including these age groups in research include multiple stages of development, varying reading and comprehension levels, and differing investigator expertise, increasing both the work load and expenses for researchers. “We have worked tremendously hard to include pediatric participants and fill a critical gap in research for families impacted by chronic conditions and brain inflammation.”
Parents and guardians can now enroll their young children (ages 2-6) and participate on their behalf. School age children (ages 7–12) can complete surveys and track symptoms side-by-side with their parents/guardians. Teens (ages 13+) can enroll themselves with parental consent, and will also be able to link data from wearable devices, such as an Apple Watch. This milestone expands the reach of The Unified Platform, making it one of few large-scale digital health research initiatives actively collecting real-world data from pediatric participants.
“For too long, children and teenagers have not been able to narrate the lived experience of their illnesses themselves, and their voices have been missing from clinical research. Allowing teens and school-age children to participate directly in unhide® changes that. In addition, enrolling pediatric participants will allow researchers to better understand the effects of chronic illness on critical periods of brain development across the lifespan,” said Dr. Megan Fitzgerald, the platform Principal Investigator.
The Unified Platform tracks symptoms, wearable device data, and health experiences across 30+ chronic conditions to accelerate research on brain inflammation, immune dysfunction, and related illnesses. Pediatric participation will help researchers understand how these conditions begin, progress, and impact quality of life in children and teens, paving the way for earlier interventions and better care.
Families interested in joining can learn more and sign up at www.unhidenow.org.
Join us on October 14th for a webinar to learn more about the platform!
About the Brain Inflammation Collaborative (BIC)
The Brain Inflammation Collaborative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization comprising patients, clinicians, and researchers dedicated to transforming the diagnosis and treatment of inflammation-related conditions by advancing cross-condition, patient-centered, real-world research and community-driven solutions. BIC is committed to investigating the connection between chronic health conditions, mental health symptoms, and inflammation caused by infections, autoimmune diseases, allergies, and injuries. Our mission is to advance treatments for neuroinflammation through research, advocacy, and education. To achieve this, we develop scalable partnerships and collaborations, as well as strategies and tools, to support researchers, patients, and clinicians. Our collective, longitudinal approach to studying infection-associated chronic conditions is positioned to scale findings across diagnoses, populations, and symptoms quickly.
About the Solve ME/CFS Initiative (Solve M.E.):
The Solve ME/CFS Initiative is a non-profit organization that catalyzes critical research into diagnostics, treatments, and cures for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), Long Covid, and other infection-associated chronic conditions and illnesses (IACCIs). Our work with the scientific, medical, and pharmaceutical communities, advocacy with government agencies, and alliances with patient groups around the world are laying the foundation for breakthroughs that can improve the lives of millions who suffer from various "long-haul" diseases. For more information, visit SolveME.org
Christy M Jagdfeld
Brain Inflammation Collaborative
info@braininflammation.org
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