Hi everyone!
Jam-packed newsletter this week. The largest piece of news is the launch of the Long Covid Research Initiative. I am very excited to see what comes out of this. The list of participating researchers is very impressive.
Media
You Can Still Get Long COVID If You're Vaccinated and Boosted
TL;DR: ‘By now, it’s clear that even people who are fully vaccinated and boosted can get Long COVID, and recent research suggests that vaccines aren’t the Long COVID shields people wished for.’
‘In one July report from the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics, more than 4% of vaccinated and boosted adults in the U.K. who were infected by Delta, Omicron BA.1, or BA.2 still had symptoms at least 12 weeks later. A preprint posted online on Sept. 6 (which has not yet been peer-reviewed) suggests the situation isn’t any better in the U.S. Researchers surveyed people from June into July, as the BA.5 variant was taking over. Among those who said they’d had COVID-19 at least a month earlier, roughly 20% had symptoms that lasted at least four weeks, with little difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated people.’
Coronavirus infection during pregnancy linked to brain development problems in babies
TL;DR: ‘The researchers found that among 7,550 babies whose mothers were infection-free during their pregnancies, 3% were diagnosed with a brain development disorder before their first birthdays. Among the 222 babies who were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in utero, 6.3% received a diagnosis by the time they turned 1.
After the researchers accounted for other factors that could affect a child’s risk for a neurodevelopmental issue — such as preterm births, the mother’s age and the baby’s gender — they calculated that babies with prenatal exposure to SARS-CoV-2 were 86% more likely to be diagnosed in their first year compared with babies who weren’t exposed before they were born.’
Research
Understanding myalgic encephalomyelitis
(Good summary on ME/CFS & it’s similarities with Long Covid)
TL;DR:
‘The recent emergence of a chronic post-infectious condition, called Long Covid, overlaps considerably with ME/CFS in immunological, mitochondrial, and neurological dysfunctions (4). These similarities have resulted in increased interest and acceptance of ME/CFS as a disease and may stimulate research, the development of a diagnostic test, and pharmacotherapeutic interventions in ME/CFS that may be applied to Long Covid.’
‘Cross talk between the nervous, GI, and immune systems has been reported in other post-infectious disease states, such as Long Covid. Pathological interactions between GI disturbances and the immune system may result from translocation of immunogenic bacteria into the bloodstream of ME/CFS patients‘
Long COVID (PASC) Is Maintained by a Self-Sustaining Pro-Inflammatory TLR4/RAGE-Loop of S100A8/A9 > TLR4/RAGE Signalling, Inducing Chronic Expression of IL-1b, IL-6 and TNFa: Anti-Inflammatory Ezrin Peptides as Potential Therapy
[Note: Technical article!]
TL;DR:
‘It appears that a pathological pro-inflammatory feedback loop (the TLR4/RAGE-loop) is established during acute COVID-19, which is maintained by S100A8/A9 > RAGE/TLR4 chronic inflammatory signalling, even after SARS-CoV-2 has been cleared from the body.’
‘Chronic expression of IL-1, IL-6 and TNFa is critical for the maintenance of the TLR4/RAGE-loop and persistence of long COVID/PASC. Ezrin peptides are inhibitors of IL-1, IL-6, IL-8 and TNFa expression, so are now being investigated as potential therapy for long COVID/PASC.’
Pulmonary function and chest computed tomography abnormalities 6–12 months after recovery from COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis
TL;DR:
‘Impaired diffusion capacity was the most common abnormality on PFT(Pulmonary function testing) (pooled prevalence 35%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 30–41%) with a prevalence of 39% (95% CI 34–45%) and 31% (95% CI 21–40%) in the 6-month and 12-month follow-up studies, respectively (P = 0.115). Restrictive pulmonary dysfunction evident as reduced forced vital capacity was less frequent (pooled prevalence 8%, 95% CI 6–11%); however, its prevalence was lower in the 12-month follow-up studies than in the 6-month follow-up studies (5% [95% CI 3–7%] vs. 13% [95% CI 8–19%], P = 0.006). On follow-up chest CT, the pooled prevalence of persistent ground-glass opacities and pulmonary fibrosis was 34% (95% CI 24–44%) and 32% (95% CI 23–40%), respectively, and the prevalence did not decrease over time.‘
Larger gray matter volumes in neuropsychiatric long-COVID syndrome
TL;DR:
‘Significantly enlarged GMV in long-COVID patients was present in several clusters (spanning fronto-temporal areas, insula, hippocampus, amygdala, basal ganglia, and thalamus in both hemispheres) when compared to controls. Time since onset of COVID-19 was a significant regressor in four of these clusters with an inverse relationship. No associations with clinical symptom burden were found.’
Long COVID: The Nature of Thrombotic Sequelae Determines the Necessity of Early Anticoagulation
TL;DR: ‘Ongoing vascular endothelial damage promotes platelet adhesion and coagulation, resulting in the impairment of various organ functions. Meanwhile, thrombosis will further aggravate vasculitis contributing to further deterioration. Thus, long COVID is essentially a thrombotic sequela.’
‘There is increasing evidence that early anticoagulation can be effective in improving outcomes. In fact, persistent systemic vascular inflammation and dysfunction caused by thrombosis are key factors driving various complications of long COVID. Early prophylactic anticoagulation can prevent the release of or remove procoagulant substances, thereby protecting the vascular endothelium from damage, reducing thrombotic sequelae, and improving quality of life for long-COVID patients.‘
Hope
Long Covid Research Initiative related-links! Vitalik Buterin of Ethereum fame was the donor that made this possible. Definitely would recommend reading through these threads.
Great news for longhaulers. Finally some REAL hope! Thank you for all your efforts and care for us putting together this newsletter. It’s a lot of time and work on your part and you are very much Appreciated for it. Stay safe and be well.
Mickey