STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Researchers have discovered a connection between long COVID symptoms and a reduction in the neurotransmitter serotonin, potentially paving the way for better diagnosis and potential treatments for the condition that causes lasting symptoms like fatigue and memory loss.
Patients with long COVID can exhibit a reduction in circulating levels of serotonin in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. The study revealed that persistent GI inflammation after contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus can cause long-term neurological symptoms.
The researchers determined that a subset of patients with long COVID had traces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in their stool samples even months after acute COVID-19 infection, triggering an inflammatory immune response that ultimately reduces the production of serotonin, which is produced in the GI tract and carries messages between nerve cells in the brain and throughout the body. It plays a key role in regulating memory, sleep, digestion, wound healing and other functions.
The cause of long COVID has not been studied in depth, and treatments have not yet been developed, researchers say.
According to the CDC, nearly one in five American adults who had COVID-19 experience symptoms of long COVID.
Long COVID patients most often complain of brain fog, the inability to focus on tasks, memory problems, general fatigue, and headaches.
The most recent findings may help physicians better diagnose long COVID, the researchers said.
“Our findings may not only help to untangle some of the mechanisms that contribute to long COVID, but also provide us with biomarkers that can help clinicians diagnose patients and objectively measure their response to individual treatments,’’ said Dr. Maayan Levy, an assistant professor of microbiology at Penn Medicine.
The authors demonstrated that serotonin levels could be restored, and memory impairment…
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