Just tuned into @polybiorf fall symposium on #LongCovid and #MEcfs research. Talks are 10-15 minutes and they are a bit behind schedule.
Polybio is a small outfit run by Amy Proal, who has long thought that viral persistence is a driving factor in these chronic illnesses.
Free to watch w/ registration.
Will post a bit about Matthew Frank's talk on 'multiple hit model of long covid."
He's at U of Colorado.
He thinks this priming mechanism makes the brain more vulnerable to subsequent insults - such as other infections, brain trauma etc. he thinks reduced glucocorticoids may be a key to this priming that makes the brain more susceptible to neuroinflammation after SARSCoV2 infection.
That's the end of his talk.
Small biopsy study - 5 long covid patients, 5 control volunteers.
Obtained biopsies from reproductive tract (endometrium) & gut.
Then looked at T cell responses to SARSCoV2 & other viruses.
Small # of patients and controls to date, 6 and 6.
Bottom line: Drug seems to speed up recovery from GI symptoms.
"The more spike protein you have, the more GI symptoms."
Clearance of spike seems to be driving force of resolution of GI symptoms.
Just a mention here that Amy Proal is now talking about a clinical trial of rapamycin in long covid.
Rapamycin comes from a bacterium found in Rapa Nui in the 1960s. One of the coolest story in all of biology as rapamycin has many fascinating positive effects on the body.
In high doses it's an immunosuppressant and used in transplants.
But in low doses it may support the immune system, she says.
Rapamycin also extends lifespan of animals in lab studies.
Thank you!
Brian Vastag
Rhyothemis
June Casagrande