The vagus nerve is a super important nerve (and is also the longest cranial nerve, running from the brainstem to the colon). Damage to it can impact many parts of the body (I find the decreased production of stomach acid interesting here) 2/
It can also cause a condition called gastroparesis, which may explain some #LongCovid symptoms 3/
It also has significant sensory and motor functions, including in the role of taste and in heart rate.
Damage to the vagus nerve should be a key area of investigation in #LongCovid research. 4/
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from the CDC: "Clinical guidance is also informed by patient groups with whom we share the information" - that's @patientled and @itsbodypolitic!
from @NIHDirector - "11-15% of kids can end up with #LongCOVID, which can be devastating in terms of things like school performance. This is separate from MIS-C"
Antibody testing to diagnose #LongCOVID disenfranchises women!
1) Males are 4x more likely to retain antibodies 2) 36% of females lost antibodies by 3-6 months vs 8% males 3) 80% of those who lose antibodies are female 4) Men have higher antibody levels
Additionally, common COVID antibody tests, including Abbott, were validated against hospitalized patients & used too high a threshold. This results in 10-30% of "mild" infections accidentally being classified as negative:
"Researchers with decades of post-infection experience need to be at the forefront of the Long COVID research agenda, or we risk delaying our understanding and treatment of this illness." 2/
"ME/CFS researchers have made substantial discoveries in the areas of metabolic profiling, neuroimmunology, metabolomics & proteomics, impaired endothelial function in POTS, mitochondrial fragmentation, antiviral & metabolic phenotypes, hypoperfusion & cerebral blood flow..." 3/
This is a *wild* but must-read story: a professor of psychology tries to convince insurance companies that #LongCOVID is not real, but that it was made up by @GeorgeMonbiot who wrote a January 2021 column on it.
The catch: this psychologist has been doing this for every post-viral illness (like ME), because he has made a career off Cognitive Behavior Therapy as a "cure" - and continued to push it even after it was rated "low-very low" scientific quality. 2/
A entire special issue in the Journal of Health Psychology noted that this guy & his team showed a "consistent pattern of resistance", were "unwilling to enter into the spirit of scientific debate", & "acted with a sense of entitlement not to have to respond to criticism." 3/
New data from the Office of National Statistics in the UK, which has been doing some of the best #LongCOVID prevalence work.
The previous estimate of 10% still sick at 12 weeks is updated to 13.7%. Instead of 1 in 10, now 1 in 7.
This includes kids, so is higher in adults. 1/
For the first time, they've released age-based prevalence numbers for the % of people still sick at 12 weeks. People (with PCR+ tests) still sick with #LongCOVID at 12 weeks, by age:
Notably, like other longitudinal studies, there's only a small percentage point difference between men & women: of those who test positive, 12.7% of males, 14.7% of females will be sick with #LongCOVID at 12 weeks.
Of all the age groups, age 25-34 is most affected at 18.2%.
3/