When acute SARS-CoV-2 infections cause symptoms that persist longer than 3 months, this condition is termed long COVID. Symptoms experienced by patients often include myalgia, fatigue, brain fog, cognitive impairments, and post-exertional malaise (PEM), which is the worsening of symptoms following mental or physical exertion. There is little consensus on the pathophysiology of exercise-induced PEM and skeletal-muscle-related symptoms. In this opinion article we highlight intrinsic mitochondrial dysfunction, endothelial abnormalities, and a muscle fiber type shift towards a more glycolytic phenotype as main contributors to the reduced exercise capacity in long COVID. The mechanistic trigger for physical exercise to induce PEM is unknown, but rapid skeletal muscle tissue damage and intramuscular infiltration of immune cells contribute to PEM-related symptoms.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tem.2024.11.008 | DOI Listing |
Environ Health
December 2024
Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Augustenburger Platz 1, Berlin, 13353, Germany.
Background: Ambient air pollution is a known risk factor for several chronic health conditions, including pulmonary dysfunction. In recent years, studies have shown a positive association between exposure to air pollutants and the incidence, morbidity, and mortality of a COVID-19 infection, however the time period for which air pollution exposure is most relevant for the COVID-19 outcome is still not defined. The aim of this study was to analyze the difference in association when varying the time period of air pollution exposure considered on COVID-19 infection within the same cohort during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Open
December 2024
Department of Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Objectives: Lockdowns and outing restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic may have altered attitudes towards hospital visits. This study aimed to investigate changes in long-distance visits outside of secondary healthcare service areas (SHSA) among cancer patients in Japan.
Design: Retrospective observational study.
J Allergy Clin Immunol
December 2024
Department of Cardiology, Angiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Long-COVID, an umbrella term referring to a variety of symptoms and clinical presentations, which emerge in a subset of patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection, has a significant impact on an individual's quality of life and places a substantial burden on healthcare systems worldwide, straining financial and human resources. The pathophysiology of long-COVID remains incompletely understood, though several hypotheses have been proposed to explain different aspects of this complex condition. SARS-CoV-2 persistence, direct organ damage, innate and adaptive immune system pertubation, autoimmunity, latent viruses reactivation, endothelial dysfunction, and microbiome disturbances are among the most relevant avenues for elucidating the evolution, complexity, and mechanisms of long-COVID.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProbl Radiac Med Radiobiol
December 2024
State Institution «National Research Center of Radiation Medicine, Hematology and Oncology of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine», 53 Yuriia Illienka Str., Kyiv, 04050, Ukraine.
Objective: to conduct a clinical and neurophysiological study of Chornobyl clean-up workers and military personnelof the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with previous coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and individuals of the comparison groups to study the impact of long-term effects of ionizing radiation, psychoemotional stress and previouscoronavirus infection on cerebral functioning.
Materials And Methods: A prospective clinical study of Chornobyl clean-up workers and servicemen of the ArmedForces of Ukraine (AFU) who had coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and individuals of the comparison groups. Themain group - 30 males participated in liquidating the consequences of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP)accident with previously verified COVID-19 (Chornobyl clean-up workers).
JAMA Netw Open
December 2024
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Importance: COVID-19 infection has been associated with acute kidney injury. However, its possible association with long-term kidney function is not well understood.
Objective: To investigate whether kidney function decline accelerated after COVID-19 compared with after other respiratory tract infections.
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