And new studio conducted by scientists at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, could pave the way for research against one of the least known and most debilitating manifestations of Sars-Cov-2 infection, namely the long Covid. The syndrome also occurs months after the coronavirus negativization, when the patient is no longer able to transmit the disease, but continues to suffer from the symptoms of the disease, often more severe than when it was positive, even for months.
Long Covid and chronic fatigue syndrome: symptoms in common
Long Covid syndrome would have the same biological root as chronic fatigue syndromealso known in the medical field as encephalitis mialgica. And Covid-19 itself could trigger this condition. The paper published in the Journal of Molecular Medicine by experts who have been dealing with ME / CFS for 10 years could provide an interesting key to understanding the long-term effects of the coronavirus, and help to rapidly develop targeted therapies.
To explain the results of the study and theirs revolutionary scope the director of the National Center for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases of the university, Professor Sonya Marshall Gradisnik, thought of the contribution they could make to the treatments. Emphasizing how patients with long Covid report to the doctor symptoms neurocognitive, immunological, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular superimposable to chronic fatigue syndrome.
Same cause for long Covid and chronic fatigue syndrome?
The experts of his team have analyzed some types of channels ionic – proteins that cross the cell membrane and allow the passage of certain ions inside the cell and vice versa. Finding that patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and diagnosed with long Covid had i calcium receptors damaged. And therefore at the base of both pathologies there would be a bad absorption of this element.
The symptoms varied according to the part of the body where the ion channels were damaged, also causing particularly severe symptoms, from mental fog to muscle fatigue and even the risk of specific organ collapse. The research of Dr. Sonya Marshall Gradisnik has been going on since beyond 10 years, and from 2020 it also includes patients with long Covid. That today could be millions around the world, without specific therapies and in need of assistance.
The cases of Covid detected all over the world are 588 million. The long Covid could be of interest between 30 and 100 million patients, with manifestations even months after Sars-Cov-2 infection and which can last for a long time, even more than a year. In which the need arises to access specialized departments for diagnosis and treatment aimed at symptoms. Understanding how this (and other) pathologies originate means taking a huge step towards the discovery of new therapies. In this case, focusing onabsorption of ions essential for the proper functioning of the body.
We have listed all the symptoms of long Covid here. There would also be some spy factors that anticipate the long Covid: here are the signs to watch out for. This pathology also affects children. Here we have explained to you how it manifests itself in younger people and why it can be dangerous.