If you’re anything like me, you’ve wanted to avoid COVID, not just because of the immediate effects of the disease,
but also because of the way those effects can linger—even in just mild cases.
And this is crucial to how COVID can make us so sick in so many different ways...
and potentially, for so long— including your brain—even after you test negative.
See, SARS-CoV-2 (which is the virus that causes COVID-19) enters your cells using a receptor called ACE-2,
which is a surface protein that tons of our cells have, especially the epithelial ones.
Epithelial cells line our organs and our blood vessels...they’re a HUGE part of our body.
ACE-2 is essentially like a doorknob and it’s how the virus lets itself into our cells.
See, ACE-2’s normal job is to help our cells regulate things like blood pressure and inflammation.
When the virus binds to ACE-2, that receptor can’t perform its normal job.
Blood pressure regulation goes out the window. Inflammation runs wild, blood clotting gets wonky, and cell death goes up,
resulting in tissue damage.
And because the virus binds to ACE-2, and ACE-2 is all over your epithelial cells,
and those epithelial cells are all over your body, the virus can cause this chaos everywhere,
and that chaos doesn’t just go away.
So, many projects, like this upcoming study led by Yale, are looking into the symptoms people are still experiencing, long after their initial infection—
what’s called long-COVID, or post-COVID syndrome.
Here’s what we know so far: Fatigue, muscle weakness, and continued loss of smell are by far the most commonly reported lingering symptoms.
Many experience continued shortness of breath, chest pain, and heart palpitations.
The CDC reports that an autoimmune condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome, where different body parts can become swollen,
may persist after the acute infection period.
We see persistent headaches, diarrhea, even bone pain, and preliminary research indicates that long-term kidney function may be reduced.
But what may surprise you is what we see in the brain.
We know that severe COVID infection can cause brain damage either directly (through inflammation of the tissues around the brain),
or indirectly (by depriving your brain of oxygen as a result of heart and lung damage).
Early studies are also indicating that some people who had just mild-moderate illness
are still exhibiting impaired attention and focus—months after their infection.
Some researchers think this is linked to those underlying inflammatory effects of COVID.
This issue could be the result of silent mini-strokes, which may have deprived areas of the brain of adequate blood flow,
disrupting the connection between different areas of the brain.
Many people who struggle with long-term COVID symptoms report experiencing brain fog, like trouble focusing and poorer short-term memory,
and we still don't really know why.
Plus, we’ve seen how COVID can really get us down.
In a study of more than 230,000 people, 1 in 3 later developed some kind of psychiatric or neurological issue,
ranging from anxiety to Parkinson’s-like symptoms.
That’s a much higher rate than in those who didn’t have COVID, or in those who another respiratory illness like the flu.
Now, it’s hard to tell if the development of something like anxiety or depression was due to the biological effect of the virus
or if it’s more psychosocial, because of things like lost income or self-isolation.
But the uniquely high rate of developing something like a stroke or dementia is definitely linked to the molecular actions of the virus.
I know all of this sounds really scary, but the global medical community is working really hard to understand more about these long-term effects,
and what we can do about them.
Some early studies are finding that physical rehabilitation, especially with a focus on retraining your diaphragm and your breathing
can help you bounce back from COVID.
Some teams are suggesting treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs to combat chronic, low-grade inflammation
leftover from active infection.
So, if you’re struggling with persistent symptoms after your acute illness has passed, then maybe see if there’s a study near you that you can sign up for—
we’ve left some resources in the description.
If you can add your voice to the chorus, the more data we’ll have—and the faster we can find better solutions.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to advocacy groups, too—f there’s something wrong, they can help you get your doctor to take it seriously.
And if you haven’t yet been infected, I hope all this helps you realize how important it is to keep minimizing your exposure risk,
even as more people get vaccinated.
If you want to learn more about what’s in the COVID vaccine and why, you can check out this video here,
and if you have questions about anything we covered in this video, leave them for us in the comment down below.
Also check out those resources we left in the description, and make sure you subscribe to Seeker for all your important COVID news.
As always, thanks for watching. I’ll see ya next time.