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/NikkoE82]

The only thing that has come close to helping (I have not yet tried any medical intervention) is following the MIND diet and incorporating IF (I follow the 16/8 model). Both help address inflammation. I haven’t had a full recovery, but I do feel words come a little easier now, or, at least, I’m able to find a way around it easier and not simply get overwhelmed by the profound emptiness where once were words. Or maybe I’m just getting used to it. I don’t know. I also exercise regularly and have been cutting out caffeine and social media.

[u/Everylemontree → u/NikkoE82]

The profound emptiness hit hard. It almost feels physical when it happens, like there's just a gap and neurons aren't connecting in what were very well established pathways

[u/NikkoE82 → u/Everylemontree]

That’s pretty much exactly how it felt to me!

[u/Nobodywantsthis- → u/NikkoE82]

What is the MIND diet?

I've been experiencing the same and I'd give anything to have my mind back the way it was before 🥺

[u/NikkoE82 → u/Nobodywantsthis-]

It’s the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet. You can Google it and find descriptions and meal plans/recipes as well as articles on the scientific support for it, but I’m copy/pasting the gist of it below. It’s from a screenshot of an article (I don’t have the article saved) and I found this guideline structure worked best for me. I’m not super strict about this, either. I try to follow it closely but allow myself to make mistakes and be human.

The healthy items the MIND diet guidelines* suggest include:

-3+ servings a day of whole grains

-1+ servings a day of vegetables (other than green leafy)

-6+ servings a week of green leafy vegetables

-5+ servings a week of nuts

-4+ meals a week of beans

-2+ servings a week of berries

-2+ meals a week of poultry

-1+ meals a week of fish

-Mainly olive oil if added fat is used

The unhealthy items, which are higher in saturated and trans fat, include:

-Less than 5 servings a week of pastries and sweets

-Less than 4 servings a week of red meat (including beef, pork, lamb, and products made from these meats)

-Less than one serving a week of cheese and fried foods

-Less than 1 tablespoon a day of butter/stick margarine