Long COVID syndrome in children: neutrophilic granulocyte dysfunction and its correlation with disease severity.
Neutrophil Long COVID syndrome in children: neutrophilic granulocyte dysfunction and its correlation with disease severity.
“CogIt started when my brain gave out on me in algebra class one January day in 2022. I couldn’t figure out a simple math problem; all I saw were numbers and symbols. My eyelids drooped, my head hurt, I could barely stay awake. Something wasn’t right. I hadn’t felt like myself since getting COVID-19 a couple weeks earlier. Simple tasks like reading a text or standing up were draining. But what happened in that classroom scared me. At age 14, my life became a state of constant exhaustion, punctuated by doctors’ visits that, months later, would lead to a Long COVID diagnosis.”
“New-onset psychiatric symptoms directly related to SARS-CoV-2 virus infection are not rare phenomena among pediatric patients. CSF tests support the presence of central immune responses in some patients.
Our patients developed psychiatric symptoms within 2 weeks of virus infection. In a small portion of patients (2/10, 20%), positive findings in CSF (cerebro-spinal fluid) suggest intracranial immune response and disruption of the blood–brain barrier (BBB).. EEG showed epileptic wave in one child (1/9, 11%) and slow background rhythm or slow wave activities in five children (5/9, 55%).. [Among six children whose cytokine levels in CSF were measured,] one-third (2/6, 33.3%) had increased IL-8 levels, which indicates IL-8 in the central nervous system may be involved in the mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 virus-induced psychiatric symptoms. Increased IL-8 levels in CSF have been reported in brain infection and head injury.. We also detected elevated IgG level, albumin quotient, and positive oligoclonal band in the CSF in another two children, which supports the disrupted blood–brain barrier and central autoimmune reaction theory."
Thread New study documents the case of two previously healthy sisters - 11 and 13-years-old - with new-onset cognitive decline after mild covid. The ability of their brains to consume glucose had been impaired - an initiating factor for dementia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease 🧵
