According to new research.
Many of the symptoms of Post-COVID-19 syndrome, also known as extended COVID, could be caused by SARS-CoV-2 induced vagus nerve dysfunction (VND), according to the study.
According to new research, many symptoms of Post-COVID-19 syndrome could be caused by long-term damage to one of the human body's most critical nerves during coronavirus infection.
The vagus nerve is the longest and most complicated of all of the cranial nerves. It goes from the brain to the abdomen, passing through the entire face and chest. The vagus nerve connects the brain to the gastrointestinal tract, conveying information about the state of the internal organs back to the brain
The vagus nerve is important for the gastrointestinal system because it controls the transfer of food from the mouth to the stomach and moves food through the intestines. It also controls the heart rate, sweat production, and the gag reflex, as well as certain muscle movements in the mouth, including those necessary for speech.
The connection between Post-COVID-19 syndrome, also known as long COVID, and the vagus nerve is the subject of new research to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID).
Dr. Gemma Lladós and Dr. Lourdes Mateu of the Germans Trias I Pujol University Hospital Badalona, Spain, co-authored the pilot study, which will be presented at the congress in Lisbon, Portugal, from April 23 to 26.
Many of the symptoms of protracted COVID, including chronic voice problems, trouble swallowing, dizziness, abnormally high heart rate (tachycardia), low blood pressure, and digestive issues, may be caused by SARS-CoV-2-mediated vagus nerve dysfunction (VND), according to the study.
Long COVID is a condition marked by the persistence of COVID-19-related health problems after the patient has recovered from the original infections. It has the potential to impact practically every organ in the body, as well as create a variety of mental and nervous system diseases. Fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste, and muscle weakness are some of the most prevalent symptoms of extended COVID.
The researchers performed imaging and functional tests, as well as a morphological and functional evaluation of the vagus nerve, in an examination of long COVID patients displaying one or more indications of VND, in order to better understand the phenomena.
Two-thirds (228) of the 348 participants in the research showed at least one symptom of VND among their long COVID symptoms. Following the completion of the initial examinations, a test group of 22 patients with VND symptoms was evaluated further.
Twenty of the 22 individuals were women, with a median age of 44, and the symptoms had been present for an average of 14 months.
Diarrhea (73 percent of respondents), tachycardia (59 percent), dizziness, trouble swallowing, and vocal issues were the most common VND symptoms (45 percent each). Low blood pressure was also a problem for 14% of the individuals.
In total, 86 percent of the individuals evaluated experienced at least three VND-related symptoms.
Furthermore, there were evident alterations in the vagus nerve in the neck in six of the 22 individuals, including thickness and the suggestion of mild inflammatory reactive changes, as detected on ultrasounds.
Ten of the study's patients had aberrant breathing patterns and lower maximal inspiration pressures, indicating weakening in the breathing muscles, which are likewise linked to the vagus nerve.
A positive test for oropharyngeal dysphagia, or problem swallowing, which can disrupt the digestive process, was seen in 13 of 18 patients (72 percent). Eight of the patients had limited or impaired ability to carry food to the stomach via the esophagus, while others had acid reflux.
Because the specific origin of extended COVID is unknown, as is the reason why symptoms vary so much from patient to patient, the study's findings could have a substantial impact on future research and treatment of the disorder.
"Most long COVID subjects with vagus nerve dysfunction symptoms had a range of significant, clinically-relevant structural and/or functional alterations in their vagus nerve in this pilot evaluation, including nerve thickening, trouble swallowing, and symptoms of impaired breathing," the study's authors wrote.
"So far, our data point to vagus nerve dysfunction as a fundamental pathophysiological hallmark of protracted COVID," says the researcher.
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