Thread by @AlleBurgers

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🔸️Long COVID Research and Public Health. Perspectives from:

🔸️🔸️Autoimmune Diseases Through Chronic Inflammation and Immune Dysregulation.

🔸️🔸️Including: Residual viral components that may be one of the pathophysiologic mechanisms of Long COVID.

2a\🧵
This review: autoimmune diseases caused by chronic inflammation via:

🔸️Cytokine storminess
🔸️Pro-inflammatory responses of inflammatory vesicles
🔸️Mast cell activation syndrome
changes in gut microbiota..;

2b\🧵
🔸️...Molecular mimicry
reactivation of latent viruses
🔸️Coagulation abnormalities, incl systemic lupus erythematosus, guillain-barré syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis.

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Strong associations with:

🔸️Autoimmune diseases that are becoming more prevalent globally, that have been linked to immune system hyperactivation
🔸️Net development
🔸️Molecular mimicry of cross-reactive pathways.

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Severity COVID-19 associated with:

🔸️Autoantibodies against type I interferon
🔸️Activation of a new and relatively large pool of additional autoantibodies.

5a\🧵
Impact Long COVID on immune systems via immune dysregulation and autoimmunity, and disruption of the intestinal microbiota is profound, with...

🔸️...duration (months/years) of chronic inflammatory response, and immune dysregulation, while...

5b\🧵
🔸️...substantial gaps remain; i.e. understanding specific pathophysiology.

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"Long COVID clinical evaluation, research and impact on society: a global expert consensus."

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"Huge Variation of Long-COVID Impacts."

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Reform public health NOW. Pillars: transparancy, truth, and trust, with:

🔸️clean air
🔸️prevention
🔸️containment
🔸️tracking, tracing, quarantining (TTIQ)
🔸️safe and sterilising/effective vaxx.

🧵

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Keda Chen, et al., Chronic inflammation in Long COVID relationship to autoimmune diseases, Autoimmunity Reviews, 2025, 103882, ISSN 1568-9972, doi.org/10.1016/j.autr….

.ht @HarrySpoelstra
x.com/HarrySpoelstra…