USA: NorthWestern Medicine's, the co-director of Northwestern Medicine’s Comprehensive COVID-19 Center, Dr. Igor Koralnik

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We've seen Dr Koralnik's name on quite a lot of Long Covid papers and media commentary. So, I thought it could be useful to have a thread for him and the associated clinic.

 

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Koralnik has authored a study emphasising mood disorders in Long covid:

RESULTS
Approximately 62 and 50% of the sample had elevated somatic and cognitive concerns, respectively. Additionally, 42% of the sample exhibited elevated emotional concerns associated with depression, but this was primarily driven by the physiological aspects of depression. Between 15–27% of patients had elevated anxiety-related concerns. Over 80% of the sample had previously received psychotherapy and had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder prior to their SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, over half of the sample reported a history of abuse, and 12–15% had previously attempted suicide or had been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons.

CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that patients with Long COVID may present with extensive psychiatric histories and various somatic, cognitive, and emotional concerns. These psychological characteristics may be important for the treatment of Long COVID but may be overlooked using screening measures.

 

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And he has authored a study that seems to find in favour of sleep management therapy

CONCLUSIONS
Long total sleep times, disruption of light exposure and circadian rest-activity patterns, depression and subjective cognitive impairment are associated with PASC fatigue. Behaviorally influenced sleep and circadian abnormalities may exacerbate fatigue and be targets for therapeutic interventions.

 

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Some excerpts from our News from the USA thread:

“Long COVID is causing an alteration in patients’ quality of life. Despite vaccinations and boosters, about 30 percent of COVID patients develop some long COVID symptoms. These findings have an immense public health impact, given that long COVID significantly contributes to the leading global burden of disability and disease caused by the neurological disorders.”

“The impact of long COVID is causing disproportionate morbidity and disability in younger adults in their prime who provide much of the workforce, productivity and innovation in our society..this may have a negative impact on the economy and cause additional burden on the health care system. This study highlights the importance that people of all ages suffering from Long COVID should be provided with the necessary treatment and rehabilitation services to alleviate their symptoms and improve their quality of life.”

- Igor Koralnik, MD, chief of neuroinfectious diseases and global neurology at Northwestern Medicine, who oversees the Neuro COVID-19 Clinic and is the co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive COVID-19 Center.

It’s also possible that Covid tricks the immune system into producing antibodies that attack a person’s own healthy organs and tissues, said Dr. Igor Koralnik, co-director of Northwestern Medicine’s Comprehensive COVID-19 Center.

Some evidence shows that Covid affects the inner lining of the blood vessels, which can lead to the formation of tiny clots and help explain symptoms like irregular heartbeats and heart failure that some long Covid patients experience, Koralnik said.

Koralnik and his team recently discovered that people with long Covid have decreased blood flow in the small blood vessels in their retina, the light-sensitive layer behind the eye. This reduced flow is thought to decrease blood circulation in and around the brain, Koralnik said, which might “poison” tiny organelles called mitochondria that convert oxygen into energy.

This theory can explain why many people with long Covid experience cognitive issues, fatigue and exercise intolerance, Koralnik said.

6/2/25 - Conversations on Health Care: '400 Million+ People Globally With Long COVID: A Top Researcher Seeks Solutions'

'Dr. Igor Koralnik, the co-director of Northwestern Medicine’s Comprehensive COVID-19 Center, is one of the world’s leading Long COVID researchers.

I the second part of our two-part series on Long COVID, Dr. Koralnik explains how patients who have experienced more episodes of COVID are at a higher risk of developing Long COVID. He explains that his work includes investigating potential causes such as viral persistence, autoimmune responses, and microvascular changes. His clinic also supports patients through regular virtual support groups that provide education and emotional care.'

 

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Koralnik appears as an author on a wide range of studies, including ones that are strictly biological and ones that look very BPS. He was even an author on a study in Nigeria.

A systematic analysis of neurologic manifestations of Long COVID in Nigeria