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Brain Inflammation Collaborative

@BrainInflCollab

Apr 9

A recent review proposes integrating POTS, ME/CFS, and Long COVID into the subspecialty of neuroimmunology.

This could mean better care, better research, and finally ditching the harmful myth that these are "psychological" conditions.

Here is why...🧵

The authors (@dysclinic) outline several major overlapping pathophysiological mechanisms shared by POTS, ME/CFS, and Long COVID.

1. Autonomic Dysfunction (Dysautonomia)
All three conditions show major autonomic nervous system problems.

Dysautonomia is a key mechanism in nearly 70% of cases of Long COVID.

The vagus nerve plays a central role, linking the autonomic system directly to immune regulation and inflammation control.

Read more here: tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.21…

@dysclinic 2. Neuroinflammation
Emerging evidence of microglial activation and structural brain/brainstem abnormalities.

Particularly notable: inflammation in the dorsolateral medulla, the brainstem region that regulates:
- heart rate
- blood flow
- and breathing

Read 11 tweets

Brain Inflammation Collaborative

@BrainInflCollab

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...🧵

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

@BrainInflCollab

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...🧵

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/XW3rU2E

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

@BrainInflCollab

Mar 11

If this were a healthy brain would light up evenly.

But the brains of Long COVID patients light up in patches...🧵

\ 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

@BrainInflCollab

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...🧵

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…

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.

Read 8 tweets

Brain Inflammation Collaborative

@BrainInflCollab

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...🧵

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

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