One possible explanation for long Covid

[Julian]

Here is a video that I found interesting discussing one possible mechanism underlying long Covid supported by various studies (I’m not sure on the peer-reviewed vs preprint status of those various studies). It’s quite technical and I don’t pretend to understand all of it but the basic thrust of it certainly seems to make sense and is quite disturbing - https://youtu.be/P8Tu_Qv8ECQ

As I understand it the basic idea is that after an infection (or vaccination, I hope I don’t stir up any antivax hornets’ nest) antibodies against the spike protein, in particular against the receptor binding motif (RBM) of the spike which is the bit of the spike where the actual binding to the ACE2 receptor happens are produced which is of course expected and part of the expected immune response and of the vaccines. In some cases however the body can also develop antibodies against those RBM-targeting antibodies. The problem with that is that because of the symmetry of the situation those antibody antibodies (called “anti ACE2 antibodies” in the video) can also bind directly to ACE-2 receptors of the host cells in a similar way to how SARS-CoV-2 spike itself binds to ACE2 receptors and that can have all sorts of effects that are gone into in some detail in the video and certainly seem to mirror many reported symptoms of long Covid. The fact that the entities doing the damage are antibodies that the body can produce more of after an infection is cleared rather than the spike protein itself that should be cleared after an infection also seems to explain the long/residual nature of long Covid.

For those with an interest and who might unfortunately be suffering from long Covid the video does in the first couple of minutes namecheck a company in Germany that offers a test for anti ACE2 antibodies although I’m not sure if that test is only available to medical professionals. It is not 100% clear to me what can then be done with the test results but perhaps some people might at least be interested in knowing whether they might be in this situation if indeed the test is available to the general public.

- Julian

[look]

it's a bit difficult to understand the guy of the video. Inspired by this video, i stated to learn about spike protein and ACE2.

i discover an interesting and horrible thing; some medicines used to reduce bood pressure, the angio tensis blockers, open the door to the covid virus, and i know a doctor that don't stop to give those dangerous medicines to the patients.

[swill453]

i discover an interesting and horrible thing; some medicines used to reduce bood pressure, the angio tensis blockers, open the door to the covid virus, and i know a doctor that don't stop to give those dangerous medicines to the patients.

That's at best controversial. Seems there are many studies that don't conclude this.

They were even tested as a treatment for Covid, though not very successfully.

Scott.

[XFool]

Long Covid causes changes in body that make exercise debilitating – study

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/04/people-with-long-covid-should-avoid-intense-exercise-say-researchers

Experts say severe muscle damage, mitochondrial problems and microclots may explain impact of working out

"Many people with long Covid feel tired, unwell and in pain for lengthy periods after exercise, and researchers say they now know why.

Experts say they have evidence that biological changes are to blame, such as severe muscle damage, mitochondrial problems and the presence of microclots in the body."

[ukmtk]

Long Covid ‘brain fog’ may be due to leaky blood-brain barrier, study finds:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/22/long-covid-brain-fog-may-be-due-to-leaky-blood-brain-barrier-study

[daveh]

Long Covid ‘brain fog’ may be due to leaky blood-brain barrier, study finds:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/22/long-covid-brain-fog-may-be-due-to-leaky-blood-brain-barrier-study

and this is a link to the paper:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01576-9

Quite interesting on a brief read through. It should be viewable by anyone as it is down as open access. I'll give it a longer read when I have some time. It does give some targets for treatment - they mention "targeted regulation of BBB integrity could now potentially be considered for the treatment of patients with brain fog associated with long COVID." Though I'm not sure if any existing treatments exist for this or if it us just a target for further research.