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As with many aspects of the new coronavirus, researchers are trying to pull together data to understand the medium-term health effects more fully.
[...] Its impact on the heart still isn't clear, Dr Gallo says, but studies published in recent weeks describe abnormalities in the hearts of patients who have completely cleared the virus.
"[The researchers] asked them about their just general wellbeing and a lot of the patients are commenting on just being generally exhausted and having shortness of breath, some of them having palpitations, atypical chest pain," she says.
What's more, many of these patients weren't that sick with COVID-19 — most of them had managed their illness at home, rather than needing hospital treatment.
[...] Other persistent symptoms people report have to do with the brain: "brain fog", sleeplessness and headaches.'
[...]Fatigue, which is more than just a feeling of tiredness, and can be associated with things like a "foggy" brain, slowed reflexes and headaches, is usually a useful response to infections.
"There's a good reason for that — mounting an immune response to fight an infection takes a huge amount of energy," Dr Landowski says.
"The body wants you to do as little as possible, so you can conserve energy and divert it to the immune system.
Then, once the infection is eliminated, the fatigue dissipates.
"However, in some people, the switch that returns the body back to normal seems to fail, resulting in chronic fatigue."
[...] "Regardless of which cells it's infecting, if it's infecting cells in the brain, it could be causing damage, which could have long-term consequences," Dr Lawson said.
Even if the virus doesn't infect brain cells directly, inflammation caused by the virus could also cause damage to the brain.
Some experts are concerned the medium-term effects on the brain might have consequences that reach further.
In an article in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease Reports, experts raise the question of whether people who've had COVID-19, particularly those whose symptoms included loss of taste or smell, will be at greater risk of conditions including Alzheimer's disease after they recover.
The last-linked article from above (which is open-access), is excerpted here with links sprinkled on some of the unusual terms:
Some of the earliest neurologic findings were in those experiencing COVID-19-related anosmia and dysgeusia [2]. Important to this equation is that COVID-19 may prove to be a risk factor for future neurodegenerative disorders, beyond that which would be expected in the context of other comorbidities and genetic predispositions. Anosmia and the biological processes resulting in this symptom contribute to grey matter loss in cortical regions [3], which is similar to where pathognomonic amyloid plaques are often discovered [4]. Olfactory dysfunction has also been found to be associated with the graduation from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD, serving as a potential identifier for preclinical stages [5].
[...] It has become clear that many age-related conditions are found among those testing positive for COVID-19, though some of these are also related to lifestyle and family history. ... Systolic hypertension in midlife, rather than only late life, is associated with 18% and 25% increased risk of AD, respectively ... These cardiovascular risk factors are directly related to cerebrovascular consequences, such as hypoperfusion, a symptom strongly associated with MCI and AD [14]. Plasma exchange and albumin for AD patients with hypoperfusion, for example, has been shown to improve cognitive deficits and initiate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid-β (Aβ)...
Journal Reference:
Jack C. Lennon. Neurologic and Immunologic Complications of COVID-19: Potential Long-Term Risk Factors for AlzheimerΓÇÖs Disease [open], Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports (DOI: 10.3233/ADR-200190)
Got it! The millennials surviving COVID-19 today may have higher chances of an early onset of dementia than the baby boomers of today.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by PiMuNu on Monday August 03 2020, @07:46AM (12 children)
OTOH covid is one of those things which does better with a hive mentality - "stay home, stay safe" is a message that jars with the anti-authoritarian types, but it is pretty clear that this message is the one that returns the result of no covid.
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Monday August 03 2020, @07:53AM (9 children)
Yes, this is really what I was driving at and perhaps didn't hit quite hard enough. Covid is making regimented society look more appealing. In the US right now though, it's like a dysfunctional dichotomy. You have people not wearing masks because they think it makes them part of the hive, but that itself is a kind of hive. In a well-ordered society controlled my mask-wearers, they're doing better. In a disordered society controlled by ad-hoc tribal leaders split between mask and non-mask, we're doing worse.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @08:05AM (7 children)
It's not about individuality vs collectivism.
It's about education, judgement, respect and courtesy (or lack thereof) for others.
It's about hubris.
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Monday August 03 2020, @08:11AM (5 children)
> It's about education, judgement
I don't know if it is related, but education in UK at least is something that has been slipping for quite some time. A sort of anti-elitism has crept in; good, in that there is less focus on "winners" vs "losers" in education, but bad, in that there is less focus on high achievement...
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @08:24AM (1 child)
How about more basic "achievement", like civic mind, common decency?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @05:31PM
Common decency is only for those in a protected victim class, not for everyone, you patriarchal dummy!
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Dr Spin on Monday August 03 2020, @09:02AM (2 children)
Perhaps you are too young to remember how the "class war" of the 1970's pretty much destroyed the country.
We have a different third party now, but otherwise its much the same. They get no media coverage, so I don't know their views on gays or dogs.
Actually, we also we have a Green party who believe the problem is people, so we should get rid of the people. Obviously, only people who want to be got rid of will vote for them.
Is there something about democracy that makes people crazy?
Is that why Americans pronounce it "Dem are crazy?"
* The leader, not the dog AFAICT
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Monday August 03 2020, @09:25AM
> Perhaps you are too young to remember how the "class war" of the 1970's pretty much destroyed the country.
Plus ca change? Or perhaps you are too young to remember the 1926 Great Strike and the emergence of the labour party?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @03:28PM
The leader was gay, and a plan developed to rub out his blackmailer, but the assassin hit the blackmailer's Great Dane instead.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @11:57AM
It's also about apathy. The staunch individualism ("my rights", "my beliefs") and the celebration of and magnification of difference(s) ("I'm some type of 'ism") has eroded the pride and ability of Americans to unite under a common and societal cause of any kind.
As Pink Floyd once said, "together we stand, divided we fall". ;-) But it's true (or is it because there is no real objective truth anymore) that our differences and divisions will destroy us from within. History repeating itself along the lines of other major world powers from the past. Perhaps it's just our time as Americans to step aside and let other countries, other world powers take the lead? We've always believed that democracy is the only way, the best way. Maybe there are other ways better than ours because it doesn't look like ours is working out too well.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2020, @01:13PM
> In a well-ordered society controlled my mask-wearers, they're doing better.
Oh dear!
In a "well-ordered" society the shitbags occupying Leadership roles are lying scumbags just like they are everywhere. They're just shielded by propaganda - unless you are at the bottom of the food chain in which case nom nom nom thank you for donating your kidneys.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday August 03 2020, @08:00AM (1 child)
Not the only one, though.
Unfortunately, the only one that's available for a society that, unlike others [ourworldindata.org], is not prepared to deal with it. At least, let's hope there will be some learning after, but I won't hold my breath.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday August 03 2020, @02:16PM
> ...I won't hold my breath.
I see what you did there. :)
If you wear a mask, you're allowed to breathe. :)