Long COVID symptoms could be linked to this condition, study finds

COVID-19 is still a mystery to doctors, but thanks to research and the general passage of time, more and more answers are being found. A new study could explain why some people have long-lasting effects of COVID-19 and others don’t.

The study, published in the journal Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, was conducted in a small group of just 17 subjects and found that symptoms of long-term COVID-19 can be affected by nerve damage.

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The researchers found that 10 of the patients suffered from peripheral neuropathy, a condition that causes weakness and pain in the extremities, usually found in the hands and feet, due to nerve damage.

“What we asked is, could some of what’s going on with long-range COVID actually reflect undiagnosed peripheral neuropathy?” said Anne Louise Oaklander, associate professor at Harvard and leader of the research team. “That’s really point one: we found a real objective medical problem in over half of these patients.”

Long COVID-19 manifests itself in a variety of ways, from symptoms like fatigue and brain fog to breathing difficulties, a persistent cough, joint pain, chest pain and more. It is a debilitating condition that is not yet fully understood and therefore undiagnosed. It can affect anyone who has had COVID-19 infection, with the severity of the disease often correlating with the onset of these symptoms over the long term.

While this study provides some compelling evidence that could help doctors in the future, the researchers warn that it’s important to take things one step at a time and not jump to conclusions just yet. This study was based on a very small sample of subjects who had previously been diagnosed with a neurological condition.

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For now, researchers hope to find a way to figure out how to better understand the long-running COVID-19 by learning who is at higher risk. A previous study published in the journal Nature found that people with long-term COVID-19 tended to have fewer antibodies than others after being infected with COVID-19. “These individuals could be at a disadvantage from the start,” the lead researcher said. “And then, because of their asthmatic background, they might also react slightly differently to viruses, which then leads to a misguided immune response.”