We are excited to have supported this new study via our #LongCovid Research Consortium. The project team are our incredible @CUBoulderBN colleagues at the University of Colorado Boulder: polybio.org/multiple-hit-m…
2/ The findings suggest that multiple infectious “hits” (#viral and #bacterial) may amplify long-term neuroinflammatory or neuroimmune symptoms in patients with #LongCovid.
3/ More specifically, the team showed that brain exposure to a #SARS-CoV-2 spike protein subunit drove a long-term vulnerability not only to #neuroinflammation, but also to forms of autonomic dysregulation such as increased heart rate and core body temperature.
4/ The research – conducted in rats – also found that S1 protein induced a considerable decrease in cortisol hormone levels in a #brain region called the hippocampus. This process may be related to some teams’ findings of low cortisol #hormone levels in patients with LongCovid.
5/ Neuroimmune ‘priming’ is an effect by which subsequent #immune challenges – such as several infections in a row – can cause increasingly profound and protracted #neuroinflammation,” said PolyBio co-founder and neuroimmunologist Dr. Michael VanElzakker.
6/ This means that multiple inflammatory challenges can add up to be greater than the sum of their parts.
7/ While this group used LPS which is the part of #bacteria that drives inflammation, the phenomenon of priming also relates to other, non-infectious inflammatory challenges such as a concussion.”
8/ The findings suggest that treatment protocols identifying and addressing different #infectious or #inflammatory insults in patients with long COVID or related conditions may be needed to manage symptoms.
9/ They also show that problems like #autonomic dysfunction and #hormonal imbalances in long Covid can be directly connected to #environmental insults and exposures.
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