Corona: 4 possible causes why people get Long Covid
Created: 10/25/2022, 5:30 p.m
By: Judith Brown
The symptoms of Long Covid are varied.
There are also several causes that can be responsible for the long-term effects of corona.
Some patients still suffer from physical or mental impairments weeks or even months after a corona infection.
If these last four weeks after a Covid 19 disease, one speaks of Long Covid.
Patients who still have symptoms for more than 12 weeks suffer from post-Covid.
The symptoms of long-Covid-Syndrome are diverse: Researchers now associate over 200 complaints with the long-term effects of corona.
In addition, they have already been able to identify four potential risk factors.
In addition, four theses on the origin of the syndrome are currently being discussed.
Corona: 4 possible causes why people get Long Covid
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 17 million people suffer from long-Covid symptoms.
© IMAGO/Frank Hoermann / SVEN SIMON
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the most common complaints from which long-Covid patients suffer include tiredness, exhaustion and limited resilience - the so-called "fatigue" syndrome -, concentration and memory problems, fever, odor - and loss of taste, sleep disorders and depressive moods.
At the same time, according to researchers, the disease is not due to just one cause.
As the specialist magazine "The Scientist" reports, recent studies show that there are probably four possible reasons for the development of Long Covid.
Long Covid: Autoimmune reaction as a cause of long-term corona effects
Long Covid has similar symptoms to autoimmune diseases, such as ME/CFS (Fatigue Syndrome).
Scientists therefore suspect that it can also be caused by an autoimmune reaction, in which the immune system suddenly attacks its own cells after infection with Sars-CoV-2.
Several studies have found that long-Covid patients develop auto-antibodies produced by B lymphocytes.
Normally, B cells produce antibodies that fight infection.
According to experts, there is a risk of a very strong immune reaction, especially in severe cases of Covid 19.
In addition, latent viruses that cause autoimmune diseases could be reactivated in the body.
For example, the Epstein-Barr virus, measles or hepatitis C and many other viruses could trigger autoimmune diseases.
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Possible cause of Long Covid: Virus or virus residues remain in the body
In addition to an autoimmune reaction, it is also possible that the virus or remains of it do not disappear after a corona infection and thus remain in the body.
They can continue to cause immune system disorders or inflammation.
Researchers led by Harvard professor David Walt, for example, were able to identify a clear sign of an ongoing virus infection in their study published in the journal
Clinical Infectious Diseases
.
They found small amounts of the corona spike protein in the blood of 70 percent of the long-Covid patients.
Long Covid: Inflammation as a cause of long-term Covid-19 consequences
Another cause of Long Covid is discussed by scientists as a chronic inflammation caused by Covid-19.
An inflammatory reaction in the body is measured by cytokines, the value of which is then increased.
The study, published in the journal
Nature
, showed that 82 percent of the participants who suffered from Long Covid still had cytokines and activated immune cells in their blood one to eight months after infection.
A sign that the immune system was still on high alert.
Blood clots can be the reason why people get Long Covid
Tiny blood clots could be another cause of developing long covid symptoms.
Researchers observed increased levels of inflammatory molecules in many patients, which can lead to coagulation disorders.
This can result in heart attacks or strokes, for example.
Also, several researchers see it as the explanation for most of the many symptoms seen in Long Covid.
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This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.
