Brain Inflammation Collaborative's Threads

Sep 7 • 4 tweets • 3 min read

Persistent chronic inflammation slows the production of serotonin, diverting it instead toward the production of quinolinic acid, a neurotoxin.

This is thought to play a role in psychiatric symptoms associated with chronic inflammation and infections.

Here is why...🧵

🧠 The Kynurenine Pathway Background
Often, a linear biochemical pathway can diverge into two pathways, making two different molecules (serotonin and quinolinic acid) from the same reactant (tryptophan).

Biochemical pathways in our cells can be thought of as a waterfall where reactants (tryptophan) rapidly "flow" through a series of enzymatic reactions, producing new molecules.

See the image from above.

Sep 5 • 12 tweets • 3 min read

Long COVID is more prevalent in women.

Could this new study explain why? 🧵

Researchers from 16 different countries recruited 2390 individuals (age 50 ± 15 years, 49.2% women) to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on vascular aging.

They found that persistent COVID-19 symptoms in women correlated with increased vascular aging.

Here is why this matters.

medpagetoday.com/cardiology/gen…

Aug 28 • 7 tweets • 2 min read

Data suggest there is a broken ion channel on the surface of white blood cells in patients with (1):
- Long COVID
- ME/CFS

New evidence suggests it can be fixed.

Here is how...🧵

Research from Dr. Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik in Brisbane, Australia, verified that Long COVID patients, like ME/CFS patients, have a dysfunctional calcium ion channel called TRPM3(1).

The function of this ion channel can be restored with low-dose naltrexone (LDN) in ME/CFS-isolated immune cells (1).

New evidence suggests the same for Long COVID patients. (below)

Aug 22 • 7 tweets • 3 min read

New research provides further proof that ME/CFS is a biological condition.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh found anomalies in 8 different genomic regions in more than 15,000 people diagnosed with the condition.

Here are the details...🧵

But first, a disclaimer.

The research was published in a pre-print journal, meaning it has yet to be peer reviewed.

Thus, it could contain unverified or flawed data, methods, or interpretations.

Let's dive in.

science.org/content/articl…

Aug 15 • 9 tweets • 2 min read

45% of those with Long COVID suffer from a sleep disorder (1).

It's so prevalent that it's dubbed 'coronasomnia'.

Here is the science...🧵

\ Coronasomnia:
There is a strong association between Long COVID and the development of:
- insomnia
- sleep continuity disorders
- feeling of non-restorative sleep
- changes in the sleep-waking cycle

However, this is not unique to Long COVID.

Aug 3 • 10 tweets • 4 min read

Neuroinflammation can lead to repetitive movements similar to those observed in:
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

New evidence suggests it might be (partly) treatable with FDA-approved drugs...🧵

South Korean researchers found that two FDA-approved drugs can reverse these repetitive movements:
- Memantine - licensed for Alzherimers
- Interleukin-1RA (Anakinra) - licensed for rheumatoid arthritis

Here are the details... simplified.

buff.ly/WfEXTcl

Jul 14 • 9 tweets • 3 min read

A new study just revealed how psychologically damaging it is to tell a patient that their symptoms are in their head.

Here is what they found...🧵

"More than 80% of [systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease] patients reported that having their symptoms dismissed as... psychological, along with comments like "it's in your head," harmed their self-worth. For 72%, the experience remained upsetting even decades later."

Read more here:
buff.ly/UiggOoe

Jun 28 • 9 tweets • 4 min read

Low-dose nicotine can help alleviate Long COVID symptoms.

Could this explain why?🧵

To understand the nicotine hypothesis, we must start with the spike protein.

The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein contains a region similar to neurotoxic proteins found in:
- Rabies virus
- Cobra venom
- Indian krait snake venom

These neurotoxic proteins work by binding and blocking the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) from functioning.

Can the spike protein do the same?

Jun 25 • 7 tweets • 2 min read

Autoantibodies can cause psychosis-like conditions such as:
- delusions
- hallucinations
- impaired thinking or reasoning

But there is a problem.

Brain-attacking autoantibodies unknown to science would be nearly impossible to detect.

Here is how that could change...🧵 $ID: Infographic of a quote from Dr. Sam Pleasure explaining, "we think a fraction of patients with psychosis actually have an autoimmune syndrome. Those patients need to be treated very differently from a typical schizophrenia patient, but right now, there's not a clear way to distinguish between them."$ 🧠 Psychosis & Autoantibodies:
Up to 10% of schizophrenia spectrum disorder patients have been reported to contain an autoantibody called anti-NMDAR that targets the brain, causing autoimmune encephalitis (AE) (autoantibody-driven neuroinflammation) (1).

However, only a few autoantibodies targeting the brain are known to science.

What if there are more?

Jun 21 • 5 tweets • 2 min read

Anti-depressants don't work for roughly 30% of people who take them, known as treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

TRD is likely not caused by a neurotransmitter imbalance but by something else...🧵

Researchers believe they have identified a cause of TRD: chronic inflammation.

Roughly 1/3 of patients with TRD are chronically inflamed.

Reducing the inflammation is associated with reduced depression...

Jun 19 • 6 tweets • 3 min read

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...🧵

\ 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/7NN1lyZ

Jun 12 • 8 tweets • 3 min read

It's estimated that 5.8 million young people have Long COVID. (1)

A recent study revealed that 65 of 92 (71%) children with Long COVID had a form of orthostatic intolerance, including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) (2).

Here is one powerful way the connection between POTS and pediatric Long COVID is being investigated...🧵

Being a kid today is hard enough.

They are forced to navigate:
- a highly polarized world
- technology overload
- cyberbullying
- etc.

If that weren't hard enough, the data suggests (1) a large subset of kids also have to manage their lifestyle-altering chronic health condition...Long COVID.

But wait, there is more.

Jun 10 • 7 tweets • 2 min read

After two SARS-CoV-2 infections, Heather Carr became largely bed-bound and nearly unable to string together a basic train of thought.

“I cry when I try to think, now,” she said. “My brain short-circuits.”

Census data suggests there are millions more just like her in the U.S...🧵

The Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey asks Americans if they have serious problems with their memory or concentration.

Respondents are classified as disabled if they answer yes.

Although there is no disability insurance (financial) incentive, the number answering "yes" has increased by 1.5 million since the pandemic (red line).

Jun 8 • 8 tweets • 3 min read

April Burrell lived in a psychiatric hospital for 20 years.

Her catatonic state left her immobile and unresponsive.

But after 2 decades, she suddenly woke up.

Here is why..🧵

At the age of 21, April, a high school valedictorian and accounting major at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, suddenly developed a severe form of schizophrenia.

Her psychosis caused visual and auditory hallucinations.

Unable to take care of herself, she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

Read more here:
washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/…

Jun 1 • 5 tweets • 2 min read

A new study on COVID-19’s cognitive impact shows:
- 3-point IQ drop for recovered mild cases
- 6-point IQ drop for Long COVID cases
- 9-point IQ drop for ICU patients

Reinfections may worsen the effect, adding a 2-point IQ hit...🧵

These cognitive deficits, linked to memory, reasoning, and executive function, persist for a year or more in some.

Although a 3-point drop is subtle, akin to mild fatigue, a 6-point loss could make complex tasks noticeably harder.

Read more here:
unmc.edu/healthsecurity…

May 30 • 14 tweets • 5 min read

An Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection increases your susceptibility to developing multiple sclerosis (MS), among other chronic conditions such as:
- Celiac disease
- Long COVID
- Sjogren's
- ME/CFS
- Lupus
- POTS

A new study might have discovered why (at least for MS)...🧵

A group of Italian researchers discovered that a single copy of the HLA-E*01:01 gene, in addition to a documented history of mono, increases your odds of developing MS by 74%.

The HLA-E*01:01 gene alone did not increase the risk of MS.

This was determined from analyzing 487,114 individuals from the UK BioBank cohort.

Here's what this suggests, in simple terms.

Read more here:
buff.ly/ZEqHmdJ

May 24 • 10 tweets • 3 min read

May 16 • 7 tweets • 2 min read

Data suggest there is a broken ion channel on the surface of white blood cells in patients with (1):
- Long COVID
- ME/CFS

New evidence suggests it can be fixed.

Here is how...🧵

May 10 • 7 tweets • 2 min read

Want to ensure that NIH grant funding prioritizes medical research for Long COVID?

Here is how you can help...🧵

But first, here is the issue.

HHS budget cuts have been recently proposed.

This is important because the HHS budget funds the:
- NIH
- CDC

These cuts likely wouldn't be minor.

A proposed $40 billion HHS cut was made by the current administration, which could slash the NIH budget from $47 billion to $27 billion.

ajmc.com/view/prelimina…

May 6 • 16 tweets • 4 min read

Infection-associated chronic conditions and illnesses (IACCIs) affect tens of millions of U.S. citizens (1).

This includes (but is not limited to):
- Chronic Lyme
- Long COVID
- ME/CFS
- MCAS
- POTS
- PANS

Yet there are no cures.

This is why science moves slowly and how to supercharge it...🧵

Obviously, many of these IACCIs have experienced decades of underfunding.

But let's set the lack of funding aside and look behind the "biomedical research curtain" so you, the patient, can understand how research works.

This will help you understand the research bottlenecks... and how to fix them.

Apr 29 • 10 tweets • 2 min read

🚨 BIG NEWS 🚨
We are supercharging clinical research on ME/CFS, Long COVID, and other infection-associated chronic conditions by teaming up with:
1. Solve M.E.
2. CareEvolution
3. Complex Disorders Alliance (formerly Metrodora Foundation)
4. ChronicleBio

Here is why this is a win-win for patients...🧵

2/ Faster Diagnoses

By pooling decades of patient-reported data, we’re helping doctors better understand ME/CFS, Long COVID, and infection-associated chronic conditions, so patients get answers sooner.

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