Long Covid Weekly: August 26th -September 4th
Celebrating 100 subscribers, Circulating Spike Protein, Gut Dysbiosis & more
Thumbnail Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash
Hi everyone!
First of all, I would like to thank everyone - the newsletter reached 100 subscribers this past week! I am excited to see where we can take the newsletter. If you have any suggestions you would like to share feel free to reach out.
Some really interesting research came out this week.
Research
Degradative Effect of Nattokinase on Spike Protein of SARS-CoV-2
TL;DR:
‘Natto is a popular traditional Japanese food made from soybeans fermented by Bacillus subtilis var. natto. Nattokinase is found in natto [4] and is one of the most important extracellular enzymes produced by B. subtilis var. natto.’
‘When cell lysates transfected with S protein were incubated with nattokinase, the S protein was degraded in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that S protein on the cell surface was degraded when nattokinase was added to the culture medium.’
Inhibition of MEK signaling prevents SARS-CoV2-induced lung damage and improves the survival of infected mice
TL;DR:
‘We showed that phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase, a marker for MEK activation, is high in SARS-CoV-2-infected lung tissues of mice and humans.’
‘We also showed that selumetinib, a specific inhibitor of the upstream MEK kinases, reduces cell proliferation, reduces lung damage following SARS-CoV-2 infection, and prolongs the survival of the infected mice. Selumetinib has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat cancer.’
SARS-CoV-2 infection impacts carbon metabolism and depends on glutamine for replication in Syrian hamster astrocytes
[Note: Very technical article]
TL;DR:
‘We show that SARS-CoV- 2 alters proteins of carbon metabolism, glycolysis, and synaptic transmission, many of which are altered in neurological diseases. ‘
‘ Our data evidence an imbalance in important metabolic molecules and neurotransmitters in infected astrocytes. We suggest this may correlate with the neurological impairment observed during COVID-19, as memory loss, confusion, and cognitive impairment.’
Persistent circulating SARS-CoV-2 spike is associated with post-acute COVID-19 sequela
TL;DR: ‘Strikingly, we detect SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen in a majority of PASC patients up to 12 months post-diagnosis, suggesting the presence of an active persistent SARS-CoV-2 viral reservoir.’
‘Most significantly, we observe patterns of sustained full spike antigen levels over the course of several months in many patients. In other cases, we observe fluctuations between antigen being detected and not detected, indicating that the time of sampling is important.’
Microbiota and COVID-19: Long-term and complex influencing factors
TL;DR:
‘Gut dysbiosis persists long after the virus is cleared, with long-term effects on the body. Therefore, the objective of clinical management should be to not only remove the virus but also restore the abnormal intestinal microbiota‘
‘Considerably more work is required to determine the mechanisms by which the microbiome modulates host immunity and affects acute COVID-19 and long COVID, thereby opening perspectives for new ideas for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19.‘
‘Liu Q. et al. (2022) found gut microbial alterations in patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, and gut microbiota at admission is associated with the occurrence of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome‘
Media
‘More than 400,000 people’ have had long Covid for over two years
TL;DR:
‘A total of two million people across the country are estimated to be suffering from long Covid, according to a new survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Some 429,000 – the equivalent of around one in five (22%) – first had Covid-19, or suspected they had the virus, at least 24 months previously.
The number of people with long Covid who first had the virus at least one year ago is estimated to be 892,000, or 45% of the total.’
A third of people with long Covid developed it after Omicron infection
[This article covers similar topics to the article above]
TL;DR:
‘On July 31, an estimated two million people or 3.1% of the British population were experiencing symptoms more than four weeks after their infection.
Omicron-related infections are the most common at 34% or some 681,000 people. ‘
Life as a young person with long COVID: “You go through so many phases of up and down, it’s like being on a rollercoaster forever”
No Tl;DR but I would definitely recommend reading this!
Who has the highest risk of long COVID? It’s complicated
TL;DR:
‘This spectrum of symptoms makes pinning down who’s at high risk for long-term health problems from the disease especially hard.’
‘There are some broad hints about who’s at risk. Studies suggest that women are more likely than men to have lingering symptoms. COVID-19 patients with more than five symptoms in the first week of infection or preexisting health conditions such as asthma may be more likely to develop long COVID. Age also appears to be a risk factor, though results are mixed regarding whether the burden falls on older people or middle-aged people. Populations that were disproportionally hit by COVID-19 overall — including Black and Hispanic people — may similarly face disparities for long COVID. And while vaccination seems to protect people from developing long COVID, Horwitz says, it’s still unclear by how much.’