US study of 936 essential workers: 3 doses of mRNA COVID vaccine linked to 24% lower risk of long COVID symptoms after mild cases, especially for neurological and gastrointestinal issues.
In a study of over 3,500 adults with past COVID, NIH researchers found 10.3% had long COVID symptoms.
Of those, 46% had lasting symptoms, 35% had ups and downs, and 19% recovered.
Economic hardship may raise the risk of symptoms persisting.
Researchers found that people with long COVID show disrupted metabolism of essential fatty acids for at least 6 months, including arachidonic acid and DHA.
These pathways help control inflammation and recovery.
UCSF scientists and collaborators suggest SARS-CoV-2 may mimic cancer by persisting in the body, evading immune detection, and disabling tumor suppressor genes like p53 and RB.
In long COVID patients, researchers observed chronic immune dysregulation, exhausted T cells, and reduced cytotoxic NK cells hallmarks also seen in viral-related cancers.