Striking decreases in the stress hormone cortisol were the strongest predictor for who develops long Covid in new research that identified several potential drivers of the lingering symptoms afflicting millions of survivors.
Levels of cortisol in the blood of those with the so-called post Covid-19 condition were roughly half those found in healthy, uninfected people or individuals who fully recovered from the pandemic disease, researchers at Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York found.
One avenue for research is the endocrine system, which produces hormones like cortisol that affect every part of the body, including inflammation and metabolism. Cortisol helps control mood, motivation, and fear. Low levels can cause fatigue, muscle weakness, gastrointestinal upsets and hypotension, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Low cortisol has been reported in people with myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome, and boosting it with hydrocortisone treatment has provided a modest improvement in symptoms, researchers Akiko Iwasaki, David Putrino and their co-authors wrote in the study, released ahead of peer-review and publication on Aug. 10.
Data from the group points to remnants of the virus persisting in the body, reactivation of latent herpesviruses and chronic inflammation as potential causes, Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology and molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at Yale, said in a series of Twitter posts.
The study involved 215 people, including 99 with long Covid. Forty were part of a healthy, uninfected control group, while the remainder had been infected but fully recovered. Although the study was small and exploratory in nature, it will help inform the development of strategies to diagnose and treat long Covid, she said.
“Our studies still need to be validated in other cohorts, but provide many clues for therapeutic avenues, including antivirals and hormone therapy,” Iwasaki said in an email.
News
New Research Reveals That Your Sense of Smell May Be Smarter Than You Think
A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience indicates that the sense of smell is significantly influenced by cues from other senses, whereas the senses of sight and hearing are much less affected. A popular [...]
Deadly bacteria show thirst for human blood: the phenomenon of bacterial vampirism
Some of the world's deadliest bacteria seek out and feed on human blood, a newly-discovered phenomenon researchers are calling "bacterial vampirism." A team led by Washington State University researchers has found the bacteria are [...]
Organ Architects: The Remarkable Cells Shaping Our Development
Finding your way through the winding streets of certain cities can be a real challenge without a map. To orient ourselves, we rely on a variety of information, including digital maps on our phones, [...]
Novel hydrogel removes microplastics from water
Microplastics pose a great threat to human health. These tiny plastic debris can enter our bodies through the water we drink and increase the risk of illnesses. They are also an environmental hazard; found [...]
Researchers Discover New Origin of Deep Brain Waves
Understanding hippocampal activity could improve sleep and cognition therapies. Researchers from the University of California, Irvine’s biomedical engineering department have discovered a new origin for two essential brain waves—slow waves and sleep spindles—that are critical for [...]
The Lifelong Cost of Surviving COVID: Scientists Uncover Long-Term Effects
Many of the individuals released to long-term acute care facilities suffered from conditions that lasted for over a year. Researchers at UC San Francisco studied COVID-19 patients in the United States who survived some of the longest and [...]
Previously Unknown Rogue Immune Key to Chronic Viral Infections Discovered
Scientists discovered a previously unidentified rogue immune cell linked to poor antibody responses in chronic viral infections. Australian researchers have discovered a previously unknown rogue immune cell that can cause poor antibody responses in [...]
Nature’s Betrayal: Unmasking Lead Lurking in Herbal Medicine
A case of lead poisoning due to Ayurvedic medicine use demonstrates the importance of patient history in diagnosis and the need for public health collaboration to prevent similar risks. An article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association [...]
Frozen in Time: How a DNA Anomaly Misled Scientists for Centuries
An enormous meteor spelled doom for most dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But not all. In the aftermath of the extinction event, birds — technically dinosaurs themselves — flourished. Scientists have spent centuries trying [...]
‘Mini kidneys’ reveal new insights into metabolic defects in polycystic kidney disease
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have successfully grown 'mini kidneys' in the lab and grafted them into live mice, revealing new insights into the metabolic defects and a potential therapy for [...]
Decoding the Origin of Life: Scientists Solve Early Earth RNA Puzzle
Recent research illustrates how RNA molecules’ chemical characteristics might have played a crucial role in the development of complex life forms. How did complex life manage to evolve on the early, inhospitable Earth? Initially, [...]
Improving infectious disease testing with gold nanoparticles
By harnessing the power of composite polymer particles adorned with gold nanoparticles, a group of researchers have delivered a more accurate means of testing for infectious diseases. Details of their research was published in the [...]
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells
Researchers have developed micromaterials made up only of proteins, capable of delivering over an extended period of time nanoparticles that attack specific cancer cells and destroy them. The micromaterials mimic natural secretory granules found [...]
Alzheimer’s Breakthrough: Scientists Make Revolutionary Leap
Dementia is a major health issue worldwide in the 21st century, impacting over 50 million people globally. This figure is expected to soar to 152 million by 2050, as the global population ages. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) [...]
How small RNA molecules regulate viral infections of bacteria
Viruses need hosts. Whether it's measles, the flu or coronavirus, viral pathogens cannot multiply or infect other organisms without the assistance of their hosts' cellular infrastructure. However, humans are not the only ones affected [...]
Computer scientists discover gap in the latest security mechanisms used by some chips
Over the past few years, hardware manufacturers have developed technologies that ought to make it possible for companies and governmental organizations to process sensitive data securely using shared cloud computing resources. Known as confidential [...]