Although the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us, millions of people are at a significant risk of long Covid sometimes marked by a whole range of lingering symptoms, such as breathlessness, fatigue, depression, and anxiety. New research may provide us with an inkling of just one possible cause behind this long health crisis.

What is long covid?

Long Covid refers to the persistent symptoms experienced by some individuals after recovering from the acute phase of COVID-19. These symptoms can last for months, affecting day-to-day life, and range from physical discomfort to mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression.

A research team, employing cutting-edge 7 Tesla MRI, found inflammation in the brainstem tissue of people who experienced severe COVID-19 infections. The brainstem manages key functions in the body, such as breathing and heart rate. The researchers performed high-resolution brain scans on 30 patients infected with COVID-19 before vaccines were made widely available. They determined that even six months after the patient was admitted to the hospital, the brainstem showed signs of inflammation.

long Covid
Image Source: MedlinePlus

The lead author of the study, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge, Dr Catarina Rua noted that while they did not specifically study patients with long Covid, the symptoms observed in the severely infected patients were strikingly similar. "We didn’t study people with long Covid, but they do often have long-lasting effects of breathlessness and fatigue, which are similar to the symptoms these very severely affected people had six months after they were hospitalised,” she explained.

This raises an important question: could those with long Covid be experiencing similar brainstem inflammation? The research points to inflammation of the brainstem as a possible contributor to the ongoing symptoms, particularly related to breathing difficulties.

Impact on mental health

In addition to physical symptoms, the study found a link between brainstem inflammation and mental health issues. Patients most likely to be severely depressed and anxious had the highest levels of inflammation. While no one cause is determined for long Covid through this research, the findings do show that the reduction of inflammation early in the disease might be key in preventing complications long-term.

Though the study provides valuable insights, more research is needed to understand the full scope of long Covid and its connection to brainstem inflammation. For now, this discovery marks an important step toward identifying effective treatments for those battling long Covid’s lingering effects.

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