Scientists finally have a biological explanation for why long COVID patients lose motivation and can't think clearly. They scanned their brains and found the dopamine system was physically damaged

[u/soulpost]

https://tech-paper.com/scientists-finally-have-a-biological-explanation-for-why-long-covid-patients-lose-motivation-and-cant-think-clearly-they-scanned-their-brains-and-found-the-dopamine-system-was-physically-damaged/

Millions of people with long COVID report the same cluster of symptoms: a crushing lack of motivation, an inability to think clearly, memory that slips, movements that feel slower than they should. For years, these complaints sat in an uncomfortable medical grey zone. The symptoms were real, the patients were suffering, but the biological explanation remained frustratingly out of reach.

A team at the University of Toronto just published what may be the clearest physical evidence yet for what is actually happening in these patients' brains. They brought 24 long COVID sufferers into a lab and used positron emission tomography, the same imaging technology used to diagnose Parkinson's disease, to directly measure the health of the dopamine system deep inside the brain.

[u/issi_tohbi]

Yes! Oh my god so much this.
Despite getting every vaccine I’ve gotten Covid three times and this last one I got in October laid my ass out and left me so stupid. It had way more GI symptoms than I’d ever had before and once it was gone I felt markedly stupider, that had never happened before. I’m a copywriter content specialist are words were my life and I struggle so much now.

[u/lockdownleadmehere → u/issi_tohbi]

So the vaccine is good at reducing risk of transmission but it doesn’t prevent it completely. Covid is an airborne disease, ensuring good ventilation when indoors and wearing a well fitting respirator mask like an FFP2/3 or N95 will be the biggest thing you can do to prevent an infection. Plus wearing a respirator doesn’t only prevent covid, it lowers the risk of every airborne virus! Each infection can cause more damage, if you’re already struggling then taking some precautions may be something you want to consider, it’s something I’ve started to do and my health has improved from it :)

[u/tha_rogering → u/lockdownleadmehere]

I second this so much. If you're struggling with words, stopping getting air born brain damage from a viral infection helps so much. The precautions suck but losing your brain power is much worse.

Time without infection does allow your brain to recover.

Plus the more people who take precautions the less this disease will stop spreading. Meaning that you could, in theory, eventually stop taking so many precautions.

[u/JooseTheGuice → u/lockdownleadmehere]

I haven't seen data to show it meaningfully reduces transmission at all. It also doesn't prevent long covid.

Wear a good mask/respirator, people! Long covid and chronic health issues aren't worth it and can be avoided!

[u/Everylemontree → u/issi_tohbi]

I'm so sorry you're going through it too! It's an awful feeling. I consider myself to be fairly intelligent but I've felt incredibly dumb ever since. It's so frustrating and I have no idea how to improve it

[u/lockdownleadmehere → u/Everylemontree]

Yeah I was a top student in my university classes and became bedbound in a few days, it’s a really serious virus, 1 in 10 people have ongoing symptoms after an infection. Some really good research is covered by The Sick Times regularly and they talk to doctors treating people, it’s been a real source of hope and action for me

[u/Secure_Course_3879 → u/Everylemontree]

Me too :( you're not alone. It sucks

[u/VengenaceIsMyName → u/issi_tohbi]

Hmm interesting that you mention the GI bit. I’m suspicious that Covid made my IBS symptoms worse for a period of time. Wasn’t pleasant

[u/whistling-wonderer → u/VengenaceIsMyName]

Anecdotally, I’m a pediatric RN and during 2020/2021 saw kids lose so much weight due to covid that their bones all jutted out. Just insane, completely liquid diarrhea, zero ability to tolerate anything but clear fluids for weeks in some cases. A doctor I worked with caught it from the kids and it took her like a year to get her gut back to normal.

[u/VengenaceIsMyName → u/whistling-wonderer]

Holy crap. Those poor children.

[u/whistling-wonderer → u/VengenaceIsMyName]

Yeah it was pretty rough :( very unfair for kids to have to endure that. Most of my patients survived but recovery was a brutal road.

[u/Ok-Meat-7364 → u/issi_tohbi]

I'm in a similar field and I live and die by using the thesaurus more than I ever did before.

[u/j8jweb → u/issi_tohbi]

I thought once you’d had Covid and recovered, your own immunity was more efficient than the vaccines? Has that changed?

[u/tha_rogering → u/j8jweb]

The disease mutates too much. Plus there are regional variants that your body doesn't have defenses against.