Oct. 17, 2023 – Oct. 17, 2023 – New research has found that long COVID is related to lower levels of circulating serotonin and that these lower serotonin levels could also be relevant to neurological, cognitive and memory symptoms related to long COVID. say the researchers.
The study, conducted on the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, was published within the journal cell.
Studying the biological changes in individuals with long COVID could help develop a treatment. The New York Times reported.
This possible biological pathway could unify lots of the important theories about what causes long COVID-19 illness, corresponding to residual virus remnants, inflammation, increased blood clotting, and autonomic nervous system dysfunction Just wrote.
Christoph Thaiss, PhD, one among the study's lead authors, said: “All of these different hypotheses could be connected through the serotonin pathway. Although not everyone has difficulties in the serotonin pathway, at least a subgroup may respond to therapies that activate this pathway.”
The scientists analyzed the blood of 58 Long COVID patients who had symptoms three to 22 months after infection. The researchers then compared these results with the blood of 30 individuals who had no post-COVID symptoms and 60 individuals who were within the early stages of infection.
Serotonin levels and other metabolites change immediately after infection, Dr. Maayan Levy, lead creator and assistant professor of microbiology on the Perelman School of Medicine, in The Times. Serotonin was the one “significant molecule that did not recover to pre-infection levels in people with long COVID,” the Times reported.
The study was small, meaning the outcomes are qualified and require further validation.