More Bad News About Long COVID

Getting COVID-19 is bad enough, but it's becoming clear that it can have long-term effects on the body, what's commonly known as long COVID. Some symptoms appear quickly after the initial infection; others may take years to become evident. 

This article from Salon suggests that we may be facing an epidemic of Parkinson's disease years from now, as there's evidence that many people suffering from long COVID have neurological changes that are considered as precursors to Parkinson's. 

Multiple studies published in the journal Nature Communications (one published last year and one published in February of this year) explain how COVID-19 has the ability to trigger the aggregation of proteins within the human body. The research suggests that SARS-CoV-2 can cause normal proteins to abnormally misfold. These misfolded proteins are known as "amyloids," which are toxic to cells when they build up.

Specifically, amyloids occur when proteins misfold into twisted clumps and form long fibers, hindering cellular function. These so-called clumps can start stacking excessively, creating harmful deposits in the body — sort of like cholesterol in the bloodstream but at the cellular level. When misfolding of a protein named "alpha-synuclein" in the nervous system occurs, the amyloid buildup this causes in a neuron can lead to the formation of what is known as a "Lewy body," which is resistant to breakdown and clearance. Think of it as plaque buildup in the nervous system. Lewy bodies spread as pieces of these amyloids break away and seed the formation of new Lewy bodies in neighboring neurons.

The scariest thing about this? Misfolded alpha-synuclein is a hallmark of Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, multiple system atrophy, and pure autonomic failure — all neurodegenerative diseases collectively known as synucleinopathies. And what can cause alpha-synuclein misfolding? Genetic mutations, exposure to certain toxins, and infections. COVID-19 may be one such infection — and that means long COVID symptoms may be a reflection of a developing neurological disorder.