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Brain Inflammation Collaborative Profile picture
@BrainInflCollab
Jun 19, 2025 • 6 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
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Long COVID in adults is characterized by (protein) markers of:
- inflammation
- blood vessel clotting

However, similar studies in pediatric cohorts are almost non-existent... until now.

This study suggests that pediatric Long COVID is characterized by unique pathophysiology and isn't stress- or anxiety-induced...🧵ID: Image of a little girl laying in bed under the covers who looks like she feels ill. Her hand in placed on her forehead to check if she feels warm. To the left is an image of a brain MRI suggesting her illness is neurological in nature.
\ The Study:
Scientists from the University of Rome and Fondazione Policlinico Universitario discovered that 34 children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 18 have an abundance of pro-inflammatory cytokines in their blood.

A subset of the cytokines have angiogenic (blood vessel growth-promoting) properties.

Read more: buff.ly/7NN1lyZID: A screenshot of the first page of the pediatric long COVID paper published in Nature.
\ The Study Continued:
The signature of protein markers was distinct from children with the following:
- Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) (27 participants)
- Acute SARS-CoV-2 infection (32 participants)
- Healthy controls (19 participants)

*MIS-C is a rare but serious condition where different body parts can become inflamed, typically following a COVID-19 infection.

Here are the proteins in the blood that were changed.
\ The Results:
The following were high in the pediatric Long COVID cohort:
OSM
CXCL1
CXCL5
CXCL6
CXCL8
CXCL11
TNFSF11
STAMBP1a

These cytokines are pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic (promote blood vessel growth).

They represent a unique proteomic profile (yellow dots below).ID: image taken from a figure panel showing the relative protein abundance of blood biomarkers, represented as dots scattered on along the x and y-axes of a graph, taken from healthy controls, pediatric long covid subjects, MIS-C subjects, and SARS-CoV-2 subjects. The four groups of dots are pictured in different colors clearly showing that the long covid dots are clustering together away from the healthy controls, MIS-C, and SARS-CoV-2 groups, suggesting a distinct proteomic profile that might be suitable for diagnostic purposes.
\ Significance:
This data suggests pediatric Long COVID is characterized by chronic inflammation and is NOT the result of a mental health condition caused by pandemic restrictions.

This proteomic profile identified pediatric Long COVID patients with an accuracy of 93%.

An AI-based blood test is being developed by the same group to diagnose pediatric Long COVID (👇 )ID: Screenshot of a article with the title: "New AI-Bases Blood Test Detects Long COVID in Children with 93% Accuracy". The AI-based blood test was developed from the work presented in the educational post.
Find out how we are remotely connecting geographically dispersed health professionals with pediatric cohorts.

This is designed to fast-track our understanding of pediatric neuroimmune axis conditions, such as pediatric Long COVID.

Check out our free newsletter (pinned post) to learn more.Image

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More from @BrainInflCollab

Brain Inflammation Collaborative Profile picture
Mar 30
In 2017, Alina Sternberg, a psychiatrist, was hit with crushing fatigue and brain fog.

Neurologists told her the symptoms were caused by depression.

"No, I can enjoy my life, and I know what depression is... I’m a psychiatrist!”

It took 6 years to discover the culprit...🧵 Image
Alina's symptoms became progressively worse.

By 2023, she spent most of her days in bed.

Not only was she hit with soul-crushing fatigue, but her memory deteriorated.

One day,she forgot her way home, a place she had lived for 20 years.
Alina asked a colleague at the hospital where she worked if he would check to see if she had autoantibodies in her blood that might be attacking her brain.

He told her, "That is impossible because you aren't psychotic.”

Other neurologists agreed.
Read 6 tweets
Brain Inflammation Collaborative Profile picture
Mar 17
Patients with atopic dermatitis are at increased risk of having severe depression.

A new study discovered the inflammatory link and new treatment approach...🧵 Image
Proteomic analysis of 353 serum proteins was conducted on healthy controls and patients with either:
- Major depressive disorder (MDD)
- atopic dermatitis
- psoriasis

The inflammatory profile of those with MDD aligned most closely with atopic dermatitis.

(Both showed strong Th2 (T helper type 2) immune activation)

Read more: buff.ly/XW3rU2EImage
Computational (in silico) simulations were used to predict which drug might reverse this immune signature.

The IL-4/IL-13 inhibitor dupilumab (Dupixent, used for AD) reversed the MDD inflammatory signature more effectively than other agents tested (e.g., cyclosporine).
Read 7 tweets
Brain Inflammation Collaborative Profile picture
Mar 11
If this were a healthy brain would light up evenly.

But the brains of Long COVID patients light up in patches...🧵 Image
\ The Discovery:
Researchers from the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Université de Lorraine in Nancy, France, intravenously injected a radioactive tracer into participants with Long COVID and healthy controls.

Here is what they found.

Study: link.springer.com/article/10.100…
\ How 18F-FDG Works:
The tracer, 18F fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG), is structurally similar to glucose, a sugar molecule transported into neurons from the bloodstream.

Once 18F-FDG is transported into neurons, it becomes trapped.

Here, the fluorine-18 isotopes decay, emitting light detected by the PET (positron emission tomography) scanner.
Read 7 tweets
Brain Inflammation Collaborative Profile picture
Mar 7
One hallmark of Long COVID is a weakened immune system.

One reason this occurs is due to a reduction in specific immune cell populations.

This new study suggests it has to do with the immune cell membrane...🧵 Image
Researchers at UC Davis revealed that specific SARS-CoV-2 proteins can puncture the membranes of immune cells, causing cell death.

But it's only immune cells with this important feature.

Read more:
pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.10…Image
It all has to do with the shape of the immune cells.

Immune cells with round, smooth membranes (like monocytes and neutrophils) are less susceptible to this form of cell death.

Immune cells with ripples (like dendritic cells, T cells) in the outer membrane are.

Here is why. Image
Image
Read 8 tweets
Brain Inflammation Collaborative Profile picture
Mar 5
Neuropsychiatric symptoms, like OCD, can abruptly occur due to a dysregulated immune response to an infection.

Can depleting the antibody-producing immune cells be an effective form of treatment?

Here are the surprising results...🧵 ID: Image of a beige-colored brain on a blue background.
Brain Inflammation Collaborative and Stanford researcher, Dr. Denise Calaprice, together with others at Stanford’s Immune Behavioral Health team, recently published a paper showing that 16 out of 23 (70%) patients with autoimmune OCD had "an unequivocal recovery following treatment with rituximab" (with and w/o co-administration of immune modulators).

But first, let's explain what rituximab does.

Read more:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40064151/
Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody administered by infusion.

This biologic is used to deplete B cells, which produce antibodies.

Back to the study.
Read 12 tweets
Brain Inflammation Collaborative Profile picture
Feb 28
A large multi-site study tested natural killer (NK) cells in 36 people with ME/CFS

Here is what they found...🧵 ID: Cartoon image of an ion channel embedded in a plasma membrane
Natural killer (NK) cells from those with ME/CFS showed a significant and consistent reduction in TRPM3 function.

TRPM3 is a calcium ion channel that plays a critical role in NK cell function.

But first, what are NK cells?
NK cells, specialized white blood cells that kill cells infected with intracellular pathogens.

This includes:
- virus-infected cells
- bacteria-infected cells
- parasite-infected cells
- and cancer cells
Read 6 tweets

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