Long Covid: Untangling the Complex Syndrome and the Search for Therapeutics

Abstract

Long Covid can affect anyone who has previously had acute COVID-19. The root causes of this syndrome are still unknown, and no effective therapeutics are available. This complex syndrome, with a wide array of symptoms, is still evolving. Given the dire situation, it is important to identify the causes of Long Covid and the changes occurring within the immune system of affected patients to figure out how to treat it. The immune system intersects with the persistent viral fragments and blood clots that are implicated in this syndrome; understanding how these complex systems interact may help in untangling the puzzling physiopathology of Long Covid and identifying mitigation measures to provide patients some relief. In this paper, we discuss evidence-based findings and formulate hypotheses on the mechanisms underlying Long Covid’s physiopathology and propose potential therapeutic options.

mRNA vaccines protect from the lung microvasculature injury and the capillary blood volume loss occurring in SARS-CoV-2 paucisymptomatic infections

“…Though the main goal of vaccines is to limit the spread of a pathogen within a population [50][51][52], the identification of a lung tissular target where their specific tissular protection could be assessed is of equal importance in our opinion, particularly when the parameters to use are easy to obtain, not time consuming and highly specific. This aspect assumes further importance when we consider that several factors can contribute to bias the general evidence of real efficacy and effectiveness of vaccination (namely, patients' different immune conditions and response; technical aspects; social and political issues, etc.).…”

Long COVID in Children and Adolescents: A Retrospective Controlled Cohort Study from Iran

“…The main causes of long COVID infection are still unknown. This complex syndrome, with a wide range of symptoms, is still evolving (10). Although numerous studies have been conducted so far, there are limited clinical data on long COVID among children (11).…”

“…Signi cant correlation was found between disease severity and muscle and joint pain (P=0.025) as well as between length of hospital stay and cough (P=0.022), weight loss (P=0.047) and depression or anxiety symptoms (P=0.008). Older age [6][7][8][9][10][11] OR=3.18, (12≥ y; OR= 4.57,] and having history of smoking or being exposed to secondhand smoke (OR= 12.45, were considered as risk factors for long COVID.Conclusions: Informing the public about smoking or being exposed to smoke as risk factors for long COVID, in addition to its other hazards, is of particular importance. Informing the healthcare staff and general public about the most prevalent symptoms of long COVID could be effective in timely diagnosis and treatment as well as reducing families' stress burden.…”

“…Signi cant correlation was found between disease severity and muscle and joint pain (P=0.025) as well as between length of hospital stay and cough (P=0.022), weight loss (P=0.047) and depression or anxiety symptoms (P=0.008). Older age [6][7][8][9][10][11] OR=3.18, (12≥ y; OR= 4.57,] and having history of smoking or being exposed to secondhand smoke (OR= 12.45, were considered as risk factors for long COVID.…”

The Effects of Six Weeks Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Functional and Psychological Outcomes in Long-COVID Patients: Preliminary Results from Serbian Single Center Study

“…In a recent study, it was pointed out that 31-69% of those who survived a COVID-19 infection will develop long-COVID symptoms [3]. The burden of long-COVID has been stressed previously, when it was noticed that, according to the WHO's data, 17 million people in Europe are assumed to be living with long-COVID, while according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is estimated that nearly every fifth American adult has long-COVID [4].…”