I created this blog post to stay informed about the latest COVID-19 developments and collect studies, news, and Scientific breakthroughs. I conducted the research and used ChatGPT to generate brief summaries to make this dense list easier to scan.
C19 Life website
This site is already doing a lot of the breakdowns. I won’t repeat the site here but here are the topics on there as of today.
By the way, I liked the below post script from the web-site I will re-post and use.
❦ postscript
You are free to disagree with anything you read here, provided that you have an authentic, evidence-based argument for it.
The website covers a variety of topics primarily related to COVID-19 and its broader impacts on health and society. Here are some of the key topics discussed:
- Brain: Focuses on the neurological impacts of COVID-19, including increased risks of developing a range of neurological conditions like strokes, cognitive and memory issues, depression, anxiety, and migraine headaches.
- Body: Addresses the physical complications related to COVID-19, including long-term effects known as Long Covid, and issues such as impotence and reduced libido that have been statistically linked to the virus.
- Heart: Discusses cardiovascular issues post-COVID, noting increased rates of heart attacks, strokes, and other major cardiovascular outcomes.
- Immunity: Deals with topics related to the immune system, including how repeated exposure to COVID-19 can accelerate aging of the immune system, a condition known as immunosenescence.
- Transmission: Focuses on how COVID-19 is transmitted, emphasizing its classification as an airborne virus and discussing infection control and prevention measures.
- Solutions: Offers insights into strategies to suppress COVID-19 transmission, including maintaining clean air, water, and food standards to reduce respiratory and other illnesses.
- Blog: Provides a space for various articles and opinion pieces related to the ongoing research and societal impacts of COVID-19.
Each section contains detailed articles and further readings, providing comprehensive coverage of these aspects related to the pandemic.
Bone marrow affects
Persistence of #SARSCoV2 spike protein in the skull bone marrow and meninges, an immune reservoir niche at autopsy in people who had Covid.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.04.535604v1
The document discusses an investigation into the long-term neurological effects related to COVID-19, specifically through the accumulation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the skull-meninges-brain axis. Here’s a summary of the key findings and methodologies:
Study Overview:
- Objective: To examine how the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein might accumulate in the skull-meninges-brain axis and assess its potential role in causing long-term neurological complications.
- Methods: The study utilized mouse models and human post-mortem tissues to track the distribution and effects of the spike protein. Methods included immunolabelling, mass spectrometry-based proteomics, and various imaging techniques (e.g., light-sheet microscopy).
Key Findings:
- Spike Protein Accumulation: The spike protein was found accumulated in the skull marrow, brain meninges, and brain parenchyma, suggesting it can cross into the central nervous system and persist there.
- Neurological Impact: Injection of the spike protein alone (without the virus) caused cell death in the brain tissues of mouse models, indicating a direct toxic effect on brain tissue.
- Potential Mechanisms: The persistence of spike protein was linked to neutrophil-related pathways and the dysregulation of proteins involved in crucial cellular signaling pathways like PI3K-AKT, which could lead to inflammation and other cellular dysfunctions.
- Long-term Presence: Spike protein was detected in the skull of deceased individuals long after their recovery from COVID-19, suggesting that the protein’s persistence could be a factor in long-term neurological symptoms post-COVID.
Implications:
- The study suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein might contribute to the neurological symptoms experienced by COVID-19 survivors by affecting various biochemical pathways and inducing an inflammatory response.
- It opens potential diagnostic and therapeutic avenues, especially in understanding the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on the nervous system and developing strategies to mitigate these effects.
How SARS-CoV-2 contributes to heart attacks and strokes
The article from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) discusses research into how SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, may contribute to heart attacks and strokes by infecting the coronary arteries and increasing inflammation in atherosclerotic plaques.
Key points from the article include:
- Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Events: People who have had COVID-19 show an increased risk for heart attacks and strokes, possibly due to severe inflammation throughout the body. However, it was unclear if the virus directly affects blood vessels.
- Research Findings: A study by Dr. Chiara Giannarelli at New York University School of Medicine analyzed coronary artery tissues from deceased COVID-19 patients. They found SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in the arterial walls, particularly in macrophages—immune cells that ingest pathogens.
- Vulnerability of Foam Cells: Foam cells, which are cholesterol-laden macrophages that contribute to the formation of arterial plaques, were found to be highly susceptible to infection. This could explain why individuals with atherosclerosis, a condition characterized by plaque build-up in the arteries, are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19.
- Mechanism of Infection: The infection in these cells was facilitated by a protein called neuropilin on the surface of the cells. Disabling the gene for neuropilin or blocking the virus’s ability to bind to it reduced infection rates.
- Inflammatory Response: Infected macrophages and foam cells triggered inflammatory pathways that are known to contribute to heart attacks and strokes. The study observed similar inflammatory responses in cultured cells and in arterial plaques surgically removed from patients.
- Implications for Long COVID: The findings suggest that immune cells involved in atherosclerosis might serve as a reservoir for the virus, potentially contributing to the persistence of the virus and the development of long COVID symptoms.
