Beyond the two weeks of breathing difficulties, fever, body aches, and loss of smell and taste, COVID-19 poses a serious threat, which is the development of Long COVID. Long COVID can last up to weeks, months, or even years after the initial infection of SARS-COV-2, shared the Centres For Disease Control And Prevention.
Incessant and meticulous research by numerous scientific bodies has been ongoing since the phenomenon of Long COVID was first detected, and a new study seems to have finally found a reason why this condition develops in some individuals.
Apparently, it all has to do with low levels of serotonin caused by persistent viral infection, as proven by researchers from the School Of Medicine, University Of Pennsylvania.
Low Serotonin Causes Long COVID
Citing the purpose of their research, senior author, Maayan Levy, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology, Penn Medicine stated, "Many aspects of the basic biology underlying long COVID have remained unclear. As a result, we are lacking effective tools for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease."
However, this new revelation might just change the whole conversation. The research published in the study 'Cell' determined that several patients with long COVID had traces of SARS-CoV-2 in their stool samples, months after an acute bout of COVID-19. This means that certain components of SARS-COV-2 remain in the gut long after infection.
The study found that this 'viral reservoir' triggers the immune system to release proteins called interferons to fight the virus, leading to inflammation that ultimately leads to depleted levels of serotonin.
What happens is that the interferon-caused inflammation reduces the absorption of tryptophan, an amino acid, in the gastrointestinal tract.
Calling Tryptophan a 'building block for several neurotransmitters', like serotonin, the study shared that a lack of serotonin impairs the involuntary processes of the body such as memory, sleep, digestion, wound healing, and body-brain communication.
Treating Long COVID
The researchers then assessed if restoring serotonin levels could treat long COVID in small animal models.
By treating the patients with serotonin precursors or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, they found that it was possible to restore serotonin after it had been depleted as a cause of leftover SARS-COV-2 in the body. Moreover, it also reversed memory impairment, a symptom of long COVID-19 to identify if replenishing tryptophan or serotonin in patients who exhibit deficiencies could treat long COVID symptoms.
Also Read: Experiencing Brain Fog After COVID? Oxford Study Links It To Blood Clots In The Brain And Lungs
Co-senior author, Christoph Thaiss, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology said, “Long COVID varies from patient to patient, and we don’t fully understand what causes the differences in symptoms." However, this study seems to have solved a significant piece of the puzzle.
Concluding their study, the researchers called for heightened research to study the link between viral persistence, serotonin, and dysfunctional communication between the body and the brain. They believe that figuring out the results of reduced tryptophan, and how exactly COVID affects the absorption of tryptophan can lead us to find an effective treatment for long COVID.
.jpg)
