WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:03.240 When it comes to a great deal, Virgin Mobile doesn't 2 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:07.599 play around, introducing a new simplan price locked at fifteen 3 00:00:07.639 --> 00:00:11.679 euro month for life with unlimited data, calls and text 4 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:15.880 and ninety nine percent coverage. Switch today at Virgin Media 5 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:18.960 dot i e Virgin Media It's playtime. 6 00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:22.160 Tcenz supply fifteen europer month locked in while a Virgin 7 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:25.399 Mobile customer twelve month contract include unlimited data, standard calls 8 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:27.760 and text to all Irish networks. Offer ends Februar eighteenth, 9 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:29.879 twenty twenty six. See Virgin Media dot. 10 00:00:29.800 --> 00:00:34.399 E Bianantalma got bogger onnlu the hachtenir, the holla, the 11 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:40.759 heemen heckl ah ersuen were auraslonce ladeni the tain knudovshud 12 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:45.039 will kill nakatarhu la hula shomperodes on uderos ors lanse 13 00:00:45.479 --> 00:00:51.600 is phaser Natgan's throw, Tasha Tapa siranashka agustnyavri anderfad is 14 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:56.159 FuGO more hey rig hi. A punk ie is called 15 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:00.000 chulala a on tudoros urraslence. If we reel to this naheren. 16 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:02.920 Oh, hey, it's still your aunt who always has kleanax 17 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:05.079 in our purse. This is Ali Ward. This is Ologies. 18 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:08.359 We're back with part two of a long COVID episode. 19 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:11.719 Answer as many questions from patrons as we possibly can. 20 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:13.599 If you have not yet started with part one, I 21 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:16.400 don't know why you're here, go there. It's an essential 22 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:19.280 step to learning why we love this expert so much. 23 00:01:19.400 --> 00:01:21.879 We cover so many basics like what long covid is, 24 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:25.799 why some doctors don't believe their patients, the similarities to 25 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:29.079 other viruses, whether it's autoimmune, so much more so we're 26 00:01:29.079 --> 00:01:30.680 going to get to this episode in a sect. But first, 27 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:32.719 thank you to all the patrons who're sent in great questions, 28 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:35.079 and you can become one of them by joining patreon 29 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:37.239 dot com slash Ologies for as little as a dollar 30 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:39.480 a month. We also have tears you can send in 31 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:42.280 your audio questions so we can hear your voice on 32 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:44.560 the show. Thank you to all the folks spreading the 33 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:48.400 word via merch on your bodies, which we keep affordable 34 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:51.680 at ologiesmerch dot com. Thanks to everyone also spreading the 35 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:55.280 word about our new kid friendly spinoff show it's called Asmologies, 36 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:58.200 which is in its own feed wherever you get podcasts, 37 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:00.959 where it's also linked in the show notes. And thanks 38 00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:03.840 to everyone leaving reviews for the show. I read them all. 39 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:07.159 I read them all, including this one from e fing 40 00:02:07.239 --> 00:02:10.240 Scientist who wrote that the show is like my favorite 41 00:02:10.280 --> 00:02:14.560 science books are hugging me Efing scientist, I send you 42 00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:16.800 a bookish hug in a high five. Thanks for that. Now, 43 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:19.719 let's move on to Part two of long COVID, in 44 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:26.039 which we address asthma, autoimmunity, longline new research, flim flam pots, 45 00:02:26.199 --> 00:02:32.039 pulmonary health clots, prevention, if vaccines help prevent long COVID, 46 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:35.400 the mental load that comes along with the illness, how 47 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:38.280 to advocate for yourself and the people you love, and 48 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:41.280 advice and info from our friend Diana Cowarn aka the 49 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:45.319 Physics Girl, and Harrassment Kyle and more with professor, author, researcher, 50 00:02:45.479 --> 00:03:12.280 intensivist and post viral epidemiology expert and pulmonologist doctor Wes Eally. Okay, 51 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.240 since this is part two, we're diving straight into your 52 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:17.960 questions and many listeners asked via Patreon dot com soshologies 53 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.800 about this, including Vanessa Adams, Will Constantini, I like plants 54 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:25.319 more than people, Creole Rama Asseri, Ria the Tiger, Jeremy Snyder, 55 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:28.520 Chante Heck raiser that'll be listening livel on shay La Payne, 56 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:32.120 Silent h, Jennifer Grogan and Alex Minor. And again there's 57 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:34.840 an audio question submitted my patron Marcella. 58 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:38.479 Hi, this is Marcella and the question that I had 59 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:42.879 I had just got over about of COVID for the 60 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:47.280 second time, and how does the experience of COVID different 61 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:51.599 individuals who've had multiple infections compared to those who've had 62 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:52.479 it only once. 63 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:56.159 If you have it more than once, is that a 64 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:56.800 higher risk? 65 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:02.080 Yes, it's Marcella, you said right, Marcella. Marcela, thank you 66 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:04.439 for your question, and it's a very good one. Yes, 67 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:07.759 there are data to a show that multiple infections is 68 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:10.599 a greater risk for developing long COVID. And if you think, 69 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:12.680 I think of it like a fog. Like think of 70 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:15.639 you're in a city and a fog comes in for 71 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:18.800 one day and it leaves quickly. But sometimes a fog 72 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:21.959 comes in and sits down. It's a dense fog and 73 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:24.360 it stays for a week. Think of a London fog 74 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:27.199 where it just sits there over the city, hovering. And 75 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:30.399 I think that patients who get long COVID after one 76 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:33.720 infection it can kind of come and go, and that's 77 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:36.759 why sometimes the long COVID is actually gone after two 78 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:39.720 to three months, which is why we designed our study 79 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:41.399 by the way to enroll patients who had had it 80 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:43.600 for six months rather than three, because we really wanted 81 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:46.759 people who work going to spontaneously resolve. And it's some 82 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:49.360 of the patients who have had COVID infections three and 83 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:52.519 even four times that that fog just sits in there 84 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:54.439 and it doesn't go away at all. Now, that can 85 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:56.600 happen after one infection, but I think the risk of 86 00:04:56.639 --> 00:05:00.360 it sitting down and not going anywhere that really debated 87 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:03.000 immune system is greater. If you've had multiple infections. 88 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:05.480 Have you had COVID, I'm guessing you have. 89 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:09.240 I've had COVID two times. The first time was in 90 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:11.879 late twenty twenty one. I went to an event they 91 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:14.680 had us take a bus. The second I saw the bus, 92 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:16.680 Oh my gosh, I do not want to get on 93 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:18.480 that bus. But my wife said let's get on the bus. 94 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:20.680 And three days later I had COVID. I regretted it 95 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:22.759 so much. And the only other time I've had COVID 96 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:25.519 was about four months ago. My wife and I care 97 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:27.959 for her brother who's Greg. His name is Greg. He's 98 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:31.480 got down syndrome and so he's sixty years old and 99 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:34.399 he gets exposed a lot, and he came home with 100 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:36.920 COVID and I got it from him. Thankfully, I do 101 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.600 not have long COVID symptoms. But yes, I've had it 102 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:40.199 those two. 103 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:43.800 Times, surprising only twice considering you know. 104 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:45.399 Yeah, I feel very fortunate. 105 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:49.160 Yeah, I feel like I'm still I'm still masking in places. 106 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.639 I still have not gotten it. My husband's only got 107 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:54.800 it once. But I feel like I'm one of the 108 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:57.079 more cautious people. And I've just because I've known so 109 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:01.040 many people with long COVID that that's why what freaks 110 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:01.360 me out. 111 00:06:01.480 --> 00:06:03.920 You know, I tell people I don't care about getting COVID. 112 00:06:03.959 --> 00:06:06.160 I just don't want long COVID. Yeah, but they go together. 113 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:09.040 So I'm thankful that you are still a novid. Ali. 114 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:10.720 You want a few novids around. 115 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:14.439 Knock on what. I keep a bunch of new and 116 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.480 ninety five's in my backpack, And if me or your 117 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:20.879 pod mother feels sick, we test for COVID. You know, 118 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:23.079 like riding in a car, there's always going to be 119 00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:26.360 risk and no one's perfect. But I take it really 120 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:29.839 seriously and I'm super lucky so far, especially since the 121 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:33.160 strains have evolved. And on that topic, many of you 122 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:36.759 asked about variance and lingering COVID, such as Sierra Don, 123 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:39.879 Small Chick, Jeremy Snyder, Kylo See, and Spicy Native who asked, 124 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:42.319 what are the odds of getting long COVID nowadays with 125 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:45.480 the strains of COVID that are currently floating around? Is 126 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:47.879 it less of a risk now that we're five years 127 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:50.639 down the line with COVID being the new normal. I'm 128 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:55.800 wondering if the strains being less severe in terms of 129 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:59.959 symptoms as we've gone on, does that change propensity to 130 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:03.079 get long COVID? Or is like the worse your infection, 131 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:06.680 the worse your response to your initial infection, the higher 132 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.879 the likelihood of long COVID or is that just not related. 133 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:15.279 There's no doubt that the earlier strains had more of 134 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:20.000 a rip roaring infection generally, and there was a very 135 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:23.360 high instance of long COVID earlier. On the problem with 136 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:28.120 speaking to the incidences rates of long COVID now is 137 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:32.399 that the testing has completely changed. People don't test. If 138 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:34.879 they do test, it's only home tests, So we don't 139 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:39.279 have a good way epidemiologically at tracking the percentage of 140 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:42.560 people who have long COVID from current strains versus the 141 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:45.240 previous ones. But I will just tell you that what 142 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:47.680 literature is out there, the data that are out there, 143 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.600 and my own impression, which may not be right, but 144 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:54.439 nevertheless I can share it with you, is that I 145 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:59.279 think that we generally have lower symptoms complexes now from 146 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:02.199 COVID than we use to generally. The recent one I got, 147 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:05.399 I almost no symptoms at all, And I think that 148 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:07.839 there probably is a lower rate of getting long COVID, 149 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:11.680 but there is still absolutely a risk of getting this 150 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:15.120 disease state. And I have dozens of people in the 151 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:17.800 past few weeks who told me they've just now developed 152 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:22.800 long COVID. So it should not be accepted that long 153 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:25.079 COVID is done and it's over and you don't If 154 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:26.319 you didn't get it, you're not going to get it. 155 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:27.560 I do not think that's accurate. 156 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:31.720 Yeah, So, patrons who asked how to avoid long COVID 157 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:35.720 Carol Young, R. J Renson, Brick Klein, first time question askers, 158 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:39.159 Nyaholt and Jessa H. One of the ways is to 159 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:42.720 not get COVID in the first place, and patrons had 160 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:46.519 questions about the shot, including James Hale's Chris Loss, Ashton Gill, 161 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:49.919 next Door, Hit the Creator, Haley Pingle, William Andrews Ozam, 162 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.000 and Gurly Hippie, who asked does the vaccine actually make 163 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:56.840 a difference? Does it help prevent or minimize long term COVID? 164 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:01.559 And studies show yes. To a September twenty twenty four 165 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:04.759 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 166 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:10.039 vaccinated persons had a lower cumulative instance of long COVID 167 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:14.440 at one year than unvaccinated persons, at about a fifty 168 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:19.480 percent reduction if you're vaccinated. So in general, unvaccinated folks 169 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:22.840 had about a ten percent chance of developing long COVID, 170 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:27.039 but vaccinated people had about a five percent chance. As 171 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:30.360 the vaccine can reduce the severity of the infection. And 172 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:34.399 in part one, doctor Eely did address vaccine injury, but 173 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:37.240 noted that the chance of that is much lower than 174 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:41.919 getting long COVID from skipping the vaccines and the boosters. Now, 175 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.759 what if you can't remember if you got the booster 176 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:48.039 because you have brain fog, Well, you're not alone with 177 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:51.159 that mental cloud cover. This was on the beautiful but 178 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:55.159 possibly beleaguered minds of patrons Aaron Hatton, Patrick Bedine, Ellison 179 00:09:55.320 --> 00:10:00.080 Mersa Jacobson, Rebecca Jackson, Quinn Amber Panita, Julia breesenbrook A, 180 00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:04.919 Nastagia Zagarowitz, Katrina Fisher, Benevolent Ish, and Laurel who asked, 181 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:07.600 in their words, when I had COVID summer of twenty 182 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:10.919 twenty one, I felt like I was missing puzzle pieces 183 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:14.120 with my thoughts and memories, and it slowly came back, 184 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.360 but I still feel like my brain doesn't work as 185 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:19.720 well as it did pre COVID. Laurel says, what's that about? 186 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:22.879 And a lot of people had questions, like, in Aaron's words, 187 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:26.320 how common is it to have brain fog following COVID 188 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:29.600 and can this last for an extended time? Benevolent Ish 189 00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:33.120 also says, after avoiding COVID through the official pandemic, I 190 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:36.279 caught it last October, and I know that the difference 191 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:38.759 between the quarantine and pandemic. I feel like it's very 192 00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:41.840 important to note. I think a lot of people say 193 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:44.039 the pandemic and they mean quarantine. Do you know what 194 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:47.799 I mean? Yes, just my side note, But they say 195 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:50.080 I caught it last October. Now four months later, there's 196 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:52.480 still mental fog going on. What the hell is that? 197 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:56.039 How much longer will it last? So a lot of 198 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:59.960 folks want to know, struggling to remember words things like that, 199 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:04.600 Any idea how long on average it tends to last? 200 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:09.120 Yeah, you're ali. All those people's names you mentioned, I'm 201 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:12.320 so sorry that they're suffering from this, the brain fog, 202 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:16.120 and that term really is an underdescription of what they're experiencing. 203 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:21.919 Most times, it's really neuropsychological impairment. And be clear that 204 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:25.879 we test these patients and they have sometimes meet absolutely 205 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:31.279 meet criteria for mild to moderate dementia. So don't think 206 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:33.519 that this is just oh I'm a little you know, 207 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:37.279 foggy in my memory. No, this fits with the criteria 208 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:41.360 for dementia in some cases. And in fact, our NIH 209 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:45.600 sponsored study Reverse long COVID, the funding is there with 210 00:11:45.720 --> 00:11:48.200 the first aim of the study is to see can 211 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:53.240 we improve brain function with an imminomodulator. So it's it's 212 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:57.559 a serious enough problem that lasts for weeks and months, 213 00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:01.519 if not years, that we believe that it should be 214 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:05.960 subjected to clinical trials of immunomodulation. And we are doing that. 215 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:07.799 And You can find out more about the study at 216 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:11.360 Reversing long covid dot org, which is a study to 217 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:15.679 see if an FDA approved immunomodulary medication. It's a drug 218 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:19.399 called bearsittinib, which is already used to treat COVID, can 219 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:23.320 help improve thinking and memory problems and reduce fatigue for 220 00:12:23.399 --> 00:12:26.200 people who have long COVID. And this study is federally 221 00:12:26.240 --> 00:12:29.399 funded by the National Institutes of Health for now. But 222 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:33.720 in general, how long does that cloudiness of brain fog 223 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:34.600 hang around? 224 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:37.320 In short versions of how long can it last? It 225 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:42.279 can absolutely last an entire season of your life, you know, spring, summer, fall, 226 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:44.879 or it could end up lasting a couple of years. 227 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:47.480 And we absolutely have patients who say that they're on 228 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.679 their third year of long COVID and they've never been 229 00:12:49.720 --> 00:12:51.919 able to cognitively get back to where they were before. 230 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:55.879 I know that sounds harsh and scary. I do not 231 00:12:56.039 --> 00:12:58.840 want people to give up. Hope absolutely believe that we 232 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:01.120 can get the brain back, just like we've done with 233 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:04.080 the ICU survivors. I think that this can happen for 234 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:06.440 long COVID paces too, and so I hope that people 235 00:13:06.440 --> 00:13:07.120 don't lose hope. 236 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:11.519 Someone named brain Shenanigan's right person to ask this question 237 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:14.440 wants to know if there are any sort of similarities 238 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:18.279 in brain scans between long COVID brain fog and Alzheimer's 239 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:23.840 dementia amnesia. Is there anything we're seeing neurologically that would 240 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:26.279 qualify as a different neurological disease. 241 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:29.279 The data are rapidly emerging. But if you look at 242 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:31.919 the data, especially out of the UK, but now out 243 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:34.919 of the US as well, there are data from MRIs 244 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:39.519 and fMRIs to show the both atrophy of different areas 245 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:43.000 of the brain and functional deficits in the way that 246 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:45.399 the brain is working. And I did a couple of 247 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:48.399 pretty long tweetorials about this back when I was on Twitter. 248 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:52.200 I'm pretty much off Twitter x now. But the data 249 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:57.960 are very clear that people do experience functional and neuropsychological 250 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:01.399 deficits as well as anatomic deficits. So what we think 251 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:03.799 is happening there is that tells you earlier the glial 252 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:06.840 cells are injured, and then when the glial cells are injured, 253 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:10.279 the neurons get injured, and so you're actually losing I 254 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.320 did that analogy of the plants with the soil and 255 00:14:12.360 --> 00:14:13.200 the water, and. 256 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:16.600 It's covered in Part one. The non neuronal glial cells 257 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:19.840 help support and clean up the neurons of the brain, 258 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:22.320 so they're like the soil and the plants are doing 259 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:23.080 the thinky part. 260 00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:27.000 The planet itself can wilt and the neurons themselves can die, 261 00:14:27.399 --> 00:14:29.720 and when you have that occur you can lose actual 262 00:14:29.799 --> 00:14:32.519 brain tissue. The good thing about this is though, that 263 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:36.120 the brain can come back and we can rehabilitate the brain, 264 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:40.360 and the brain can cells and neurons can regrow, and 265 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:42.480 we know that that can happen. So there's a beautiful 266 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:46.159 story evolving in the area of neuroscience. And I'm not 267 00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:48.159 a neuroscientist, so don't think that I'm trying to pretend 268 00:14:48.200 --> 00:14:51.440 to be a neuroscientist. I'm an intensivist. But these data 269 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:53.720 are very encouraging. 270 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:55.080 And for more on that, you can see the paper 271 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:59.440 Brain Abnormalities and Survivors of COVID nineteen after two year Recovery, 272 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:03.960 a function MRI study which found that survivors of mild 273 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:08.480 and severe critical long COVID had a significantly higher score 274 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:13.840 of cognitive complaints involving cognitive failure and mental fatigue than 275 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:18.200 the healthy control group. And even if you have brain 276 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:20.240 fog and you can't find your keys or do the 277 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:23.240 Sunday crossword, you're like, Oh, people who have long COVID 278 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:28.039 have complaints about cognitive failure. No shit, Sherlock. However, this 279 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:32.240 study is noteworthy because researchers are getting data from these 280 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:37.240 functional MRI studies to locate exactly what parts of the 281 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:38.600 brain are affected. 282 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:41.519 Scary and encouraging that maybe we can do something about 283 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:42.200 it in the long run. 284 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:47.639 Anthro curator wanted to know, since getting COVID, why does 285 00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:50.720 my nervous system freak out whenever I have any virus now? 286 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:56.200 So people can get both central and peripheral neurological diseases 287 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:58.799 in long COVID. We talked about the central ones quite 288 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.639 a bit just now, but for neuropathies that people develop 289 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:05.519 are very discouraging to people. They get burning and tingling 290 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:08.279 in their hands and feet, and motor difficulties as well. 291 00:16:08.799 --> 00:16:10.759 You asked, why does it get worse now when you 292 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:14.000 have other viral injuries? Once these things are set in motion, 293 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:18.559 any kind of infection or exacerbation of inflammation will make 294 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:21.000 them worse. And whenever you get a viral injury, you 295 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:24.840 get inflammation which then can exacerbate what is the now 296 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:27.519 newly acquired nerve disease in your body. 297 00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:31.480 You know, someone asked about only one person asked about diet, 298 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:33.240 which I was surprised about. And we're going to get 299 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:35.519 right back to that diet question in a minute. But first, 300 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:38.480 of course, we donate to a cause of the eologist choosing, 301 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:41.759 and this week it's going to Icudelirium dot Org, which 302 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.559 we talked about in part one, is offering support to 303 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:48.480 long COVID patients. And we're also sending additional donations this 304 00:16:48.519 --> 00:16:52.440 week to the Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness, 305 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:56.559 which is the world's first medical center dedicated to researching 306 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:00.639 and treating infection associated chronic conditions, and will donate to 307 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:05.160 Diana Cowar's favorite cause, the Open Medicine Foundation, to support 308 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:10.279 research and clinical trials FORMECFS and long COVID. So thank 309 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:13.039 you to sponsor this show for making all these donations possible. 310 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:16.759 When it comes to a great deal, Virgin Mobile doesn't 311 00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:21.119 play around, introducing a new simplan price locked at fifteen 312 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:25.200 euro month for life with unlimited data, calls and text 313 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:29.400 and ninety nine percent coverage switch today at Virgin Media 314 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:33.039 dot Ie Virgin Media it's playtime. 315 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:35.680 TCNC supply fifteen europer month locked in, while a Virgin 316 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.920 Mobile customer twelve month contract include unlimited data, standard calls 317 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:41.559 and texts. All Irish networks offer ends Februar eighteenth, twenty 318 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:43.400 twenty six. See Virgin Media dot E. 319 00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:48.440 Bian montmagt burger onnlu the heartnir, the holla, the hayman 320 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:54.279 a heckl ah ersuen urs lance LADENI detain nudovsho that 321 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:58.559 will kill nagadarhu la hula's homperodes on uderas ors lance 322 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:05.039 is phaserlatguns through tasha tapa sera, nashka august nav is 323 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:09.640 FuGO more hey rig hi a punk ie is called 324 00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:12.640 la a atudoros or reslanza. If we real this in 325 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:13.039 the heron. 326 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:17.039 Okay, back to your questions and if you're hungering for 327 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:19.240 more on the diet and long covid one, here you go. 328 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:21.559 K Pel has asked, is there any correlation to long 329 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:26.359 covid and night shade sensitivities? Is going on an autoimmune 330 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:31.119 friendly diet like a low inflammatory diet? Does that help 331 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:32.519 any of your patients? That you've seen. 332 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:35.480 I love that you asked that. So whoever asked that, 333 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:35.839 thank you. 334 00:18:36.119 --> 00:18:36.680 You're welcome. 335 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:40.200 This is anecdotal, but I have gotten in the twenty 336 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:45.279 to thirty emails from physicians, scientists, people who really do 337 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:48.519 know science well who said that going on a keto 338 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:51.119 diet has really helped them, which is supposed to be 339 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:54.279 lack of inflammation. I'm not saying to everybody here to 340 00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:56.960 go on that diet, but my point is this, there's 341 00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:01.079 absolutely a relationship between what you eat and how this 342 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:05.000 disease might go forward. And I do think that a healthy, appropriate, 343 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:08.279 balanced diet is the first way to start. Whether or 344 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:10.960 not you go fully on a low inflammation diet to 345 00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:14.559 generate ketones and avoid the inflammation that can occur with 346 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:18.279 otherwise eating is something to try and do it under 347 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:22.200 the advice of a nutritionists. I think, don't wing this 348 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:25.519 and have somebody professional in your life helping you figure 349 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:26.920 out if this is making a difference or not. 350 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:30.359 Yeah. I know with Diana there were very few foods 351 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.880 that she could eat for a while. She's starting to 352 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:36.160 introduce them back. Do you see food intolerances common in 353 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:37.519 terms of just wiping people out? 354 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:41.400 Absolutely, wiping people out. Again. I'm not a nutritionist, but 355 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:44.079 there's no question in my mind that some people have 356 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:48.039 been made way better by eating very very strict diets, 357 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:50.359 rooming multiple things, and adding one thing at a time 358 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:52.680 back in. I'm encouraged to hear that Diana is adding 359 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:55.920 them back in slowly, and I think that that sort 360 00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:57.559 of a controlled approach is the way to go, And 361 00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:00.359 no doubt she and her husband are scientists, so they'll 362 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:02.599 take a very careful approach as she gets better. 363 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:06.759 Yeah, it's been really heartening to see that she's able 364 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:09.839 to introduce more things. For a while, she was like pistachios, 365 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:13.000 yams like a super restricted and I really wanted to 366 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:16.839 highlight more of Diana Kaaren's story. Her YouTube channel goes 367 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:19.640 by the name Physics Girl, and she's a pillar of 368 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:22.759 the sycom community. You've probably heard of her, and she 369 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:25.759 has had long COVID since twenty twenty two and a 370 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:29.240 year into it, her husband Kyle posted an update for 371 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:32.200 her saying thank you everyone so much for the kind 372 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:35.039 messages and checking in. The support and love is overwhelming, 373 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:39.200 and Diana went on to say, through Kyle, I just 374 00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:43.559 don't know how to respond. I am very sick, She writes, 375 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:47.200 MY brain works at twenty percent capacity for a few 376 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:50.480 minutes a day. I can barely move or talk. The 377 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:52.359 rest of the time, I lie here with my eyes 378 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:56.799 closed in a quiet dark room, no music, no reading, 379 00:20:57.319 --> 00:21:03.119 no phone. I count breaths, meditate, repeat mantras to soothe 380 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:07.559 my fears. Sometimes I succeed. She continues, I have severe 381 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:15.119 MCAS mast cell activation syndrome and severe mecfs pots small 382 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:19.720 intestinal bacterial overgrowth or CEBO, and a lower gut infection 383 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:23.079 that have been diagnosed so far. The mass to cell 384 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:27.240 activation syndrome is brutal. I get dizziness, nausea, and chest 385 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:30.920 pain from everything. Every food I eat fragrance. I smell 386 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:34.640 organic cotton sheets that have been boiled with no detergent. 387 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:38.359 All my meds they're supposed to help mcas, She writes, 388 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:42.160 I can't wear clothes, I can't use toothpaste. Kyle has 389 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:46.440 to boil hypoallergenic baby wipes so I can bathe without 390 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:50.400 getting rashes. This disease is truly horrible, but we're still 391 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:53.440 trying treatments, and I promise I'm hanging in there. I 392 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:57.000 have the best support system I could imagine you all included. 393 00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:01.440 So that was what Diana had Kyle in twenty twenty three, 394 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:06.319 twenty twenty five. She's still suffering greatly and her primary 395 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:08.759 caregiver is her husband, Kyle, and they were married in 396 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:11.640 spring of twenty twenty two. She got COVID in the 397 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:15.319 summer and by that August began to realize something was 398 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:18.599 very wrong. And Kyle and Diana have been very vocal 399 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:21.599 advocates for the treatment and the research around long COVID, 400 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:23.880 and they were so kind to send me about a 401 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:26.799