#1

One of the most detailed and interesting articles I’ve seen from BBC.com.
Some excerpts:

When viruses invade our cells, they hijack mitochondria and leach some of the energy which is being generated for our benefit and use it to help them replicate and pump more virus through the body. “Now you have a cell that is working way over capacity to produce energy for both viral replication as well as the general functions it needs to perform,” says Putrino.
…
In other cases, the muscle weakness and physical impairments which many people with severe post-viral fatigue and PEM describe, are thought to be due to the initial infection inducing a state of autoimmunity, changing the behaviour of immune cells and triggering them to attack the very nerve fibres which enable muscles to contract. In Ebola disease survivors, severe autoimmunity has been shown to be connected to the symptoms of prolonged fatigue which many experience, while similar processeswere also linked to the chronic fatigue and disability experienced by survivors of the Sars outbreak in the early 2000s.
…
“Viral infections may trigger long-term and persistent impairment in one’s immune system,” says Avik Roy, chief scientific officer at the non-profit Simmaron Research, which conducts research into the treatment of neuroimmune diseases. “Autoimmune responses due to the altered behaviour of immune cells such as T lymphocytes, natural killer cells and macrophages may cause damage in the myelin layer of peripheral nerves, resulting in muscle weakness and fatigue.”
…
Sars-CoV-2 and other viruses appear to be capable of driving the formation of micro-clots, tiny particles which move through blood vessels entrapping various proteins and impairing oxygen flow, while in other cases, viral damage can affect normal heart rate, respiratory function and blood flow.
…
If the mitochondria can’t get enough oxygen to function normally, Keller says that the body shifts to anaerobic energy production, a means of generating energy which is usually only required for short, intense bursts of activity such as sprinting at high speed. “When this shift towards anaerobic energy production occurs prematurely during low-level exertion, even simple activities of daily living will result in fatigue,” says Keller.
…
At Mount Sinai, Putrino is now leading a clinical trial looking at whether an enzyme called lumbrokinase, which breaks down fibrin, a protein which is thought to be at the core of micro-clots, can help improve mitochondrial function and energy levels in long Covid and ME/CFS patients.

4 Likes