Corona Virus Anxiety Stress (Unsplash)
Long-Covid has been devastating people the world over since the Covid crisis first began at the end of 2019. But what is it? What is the cause of Long-Covid? Well, Dutch scientists from Amsterdam UMC and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) say they may have found an answer as to why sufferers are fatigued all of the time.
Long-COVID is a complex condition that can occur after a COVID-19 infection, even in people who have mild or no initial symptoms. It is characterized by a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems that can last for weeks, months, or even years after the initial infection.
There is no single test for Long-COVID, and diagnosis is usually based on a person’s medical history, symptoms, and physical examination. Doctors may also order tests to rule out other possible conditions.
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And, most importantly, there is no treatment, at least not yet. And one of its biggest symptoms, among many is fatigue and weakening of the muscles.
Now, the Dutch researchers may) have discovered that the persistent fatigue in patients with Long-COVID has a biological cause, namely mitochondria in muscle cells that produce less energy than in healthy patients. The results of the study were published today in Nature Communications.
Mitochondria are often referred to as the powerhouses of the cell because they are responsible for producing most of the chemical energy that cells need to function. The main function of mitochondria is to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the cell’s main energy source. ATP is produced through a process called cellular respiration, which breaks down glucose in the presence of oxygen.
So, a problem with the mitochondria would mean the muscle cells do not get the oxygen needed to heal after being stressed, thereby causing fatigue.
“We’re seeing clear changes in the muscles in these patients,” says Michèle van Vugt, Professor of Internal Medicine at Amsterdam UMC. “So, the cause of the fatigue is really biological. The brain needs energy to think. Muscles need energy to move. This discovery means we can now start to research an appropriate treatment for those with Long-COVID.”
“We saw various abnormalities in the muscle tissue of the patients. At the cellular level, we saw that the mitochondria of the muscle, also known as the energy factories of the cell, function less well and that they produce less energy,” says Rob Wüst, Assistant Professor at the Department of Human Movement Sciences at the VU University.
The researchers, unfortunately, have not yet found a way to fix this problem. So, for now, the best advice they could give to long-Covid sufferers is to avoid exercise.
