A team of scientists is proposing a new explanation for some cases of long Covid, based on their findings that serotonin levels were lower in people with long Covid. They said that the biological pathway that their research outlines could unite many of the major theories of what causes long Covid: lingering remnants of the virus, inflammation, increased blood clotting and dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
In their study, published on Monday in the journal Cell, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania suggest that serotonin reduction is triggered by remnants of the virus lingering in the gut.
This is one of several new studies documenting distinct biological changes in the bodies of people with long Covid — offering important discoveries for a condition that takes many forms and often does not register on standard diagnostic tools like X-rays.
And the authors said the biological pathway that their research outlines could unite many of the major theories of what causes long Covid: lingering remnants of the virus, inflammation, increased blood clotting and dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.
“All these different hypotheses might be connected through the serotonin pathway,” said Christoph Thaiss, a lead author of the study and an assistant professor of microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Her team and colleagues at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently published a study that identified other biological changes linked to some cases of long Covid, including levels of the hormone cortisol.
Putting the findings in patients together with research on mice and miniature models of the human gut, where most serotonin is produced, the team identified a pathway that could underlie some cases of long Covid.
The original article contains 817 words, the summary contains 218 words. Saved 73%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
BuT iTs JuSt A fLu RiGhT???
This seems like a simple thing to check. 5HTP is a known serotonin precursor, and in most countries is not a controlled substance.
BUT, to anyone reading this with long covid thinking of giving 5HTP a go, for fucks sake PLEASE treat it with respect & do your due diligence with regard to researching the effects and safety of it. Serotonin syndrome is real and deadly. If you are taking an SSRI, or other things that affect / increase serotonin levels then you prob shouldn’t be taking 5HTP.
Definitely. Serotonin syndrome is deadly and any serotonin increasing medication (SSRI/SNRI/TCA, etc) should be taken only under physician’s guidance.
I experienced it once. Was already on SSRI, took a 5HTP cap, forgot I had taken it, took another.
I ended up on the floor of my bedroom… made it about 2 steps towards the bathroom. Was a very bizarre sensation, I distinctly remember for about what I assume was 10 mins, I didn’t know what I was let alone who I was; utter confusion. Then I made an inexplicably-neat little puddle of puke next to my face (good job I was on my front as I was completely immobile) and shat myself, I remember hearing an ambulance go past and thinking “I need one of those”. Then just an insane amount of heat feeling like it was radiating off me.
I hope someone can learn from my fail!
That sounds scary. I take a TCA and SNRI daily and sometimes I also need to take sumatriptan. Fear of serotonin syndrome is always at the back of my mind.
This was really interesting and would explain a lot of my experiences very well. I might have to start tinkering with tryptophan and seeing what happens.
