Neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2 - Webinar with Dr. Avindra Nath 7/27/22

Very interesting webinar on the neurological impact of Long COVID as well as recent findings - such as platelets and adhesion molecules leading to microthrombosis and vessel wall inflammation in the brain.

Mentions blood vessel occlusion of the inner ear as a possible explanation for 15% of LC patients reporting dizziness and vertigo.

Mentions possibility that an antibody mediating process is activating the classical cascade leading to the expression of adhesion molecules that, in conjunction with fibrinogen and the presence of macrophages, are blocking blood vessels.

Almost no T-cells in the brain, but huge amounts of microglial cell activation going on in the brains of LC patients. He doesn't think auto-antibodies are involved.

I hope I got most of this right. There was a lot of information that I might have misunderstood or just missed. Hopefully, others may be able to communicate this more clearly than I.

 

Nath's hypothesis for what causes Long Covid is at 40:27 in the video, if you don't want to watch the whole thing. I believe this is neurological Long Covid specifically, but Nath includes exercise intolerance and fatigue in this. Very little detail, seems to be basically leakage into the brain through endothelial cells damaged by antibodies, leading to microglial activation then neuronal damage.

He discusses treatment trial options a couple minutes later (steroids, rituximab, IVIg, checkpoint inhibitors, methotrexate, etc).

 

All of these things have already been tried in ME/CFS (which is what long Covid is) and shown to be useless.

 

The vestibular neuritis that I've been experiencing over these last 2 years (possible Covid related) is different from the vertigo I experienced during sudden M.E onset. I feel a steroid in my current situation might be helpful.