2023-10-22 18:01:00
An investigation took into account the four existing hypotheses regarding long covid and found a new explanation.
Photo: Óscar Pérez
Long covid or “long covid” represents a significant challenge for global health, since to date no effective treatments have been found to help treat this disease that can affect multiple organs such as the lungs, kidneys, heart, brain and skin.
At the moment, several hypotheses have been formulated to explain the so-called post-acute sequelae of covid-19, such as viral persistence, chronic inflammation, hypercoagulability and autonomic dysfunction. However, new research published in the cell magazine, found that long Covid would be associated with a reduction in serotonin, also known as “the happiness hormone.” (Read: Sleeping less than five hours would increase the risk of developing depressive symptoms)
“Viral infection and inflammation caused by interferon (a natural substance that helps the immune system fight infections and other diseases) type I reduce serotonin through three mechanisms,” the study indicates.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that the reduction of serotonin, in turn, impedes the activity of the vagus nerve, one of the main nerves of the nervous system, and therefore impairs the responses and memory of the hippocampus, a brain structure that is responsible, among other things, for the generation and retrieval of memories.
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The study linked the four previously held hypotheses to provide actionable insights for therapeutic interventions, including serotonin-boosting medications. (Read: WHO recommendations to regulate artificial intelligence in health)
“All of these different hypotheses might be connected through the serotonin pathway,” says Christoph Thaiss, one of the study’s senior authors and associate professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
To reach this conclusion, they analyzed the blood of 58 people who suffered from prolonged covid for a period between three and 22 months since their infection. They compared these results with blood tests from 30 people without post-COVID symptoms and 60 patients who were in the initial and acute phase of coronavirus infection.
The results showed that serotonin levels and other metabolites were altered just following coronavirus infection, something that also occurs with other viral infections. However, the difference is that in people with “long covid” serotonin was the only molecule that did not recover its pre-infection levels. (Read: Obesity and overweight cost Colombia $2.4 billion pesos a year)
“The fact that low levels of serotonin are also found in non-viral conditions characterized by elevated levels of interferon, such as systemic lupus erythematosus or multiple sclerosis, suggests that the pathway described in this study may apply even beyond viral infections.” ”say the researchers.
The study recognizes that the relationship between serotonin and long covid must continue to be studied to safely confirm the hypothesis.
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