The pandemic Covid-19 introduced a new term in medicine. The so-called long covid occurs when symptoms of the disease persist, or appear for the first time, months after contamination by SARS CoV-2.
The condition has been extensively studied by scientists, which has opened a new window for research into another health problem that is little understood to this day. Post-viral fatigue is characterized by persistent exhaustion experienced by some people after they recover from other types of infections.
For many years, it was underestimated and considered a disease of psychological origin. However, it has been linked to several infections, such as Sars, Ebola, Epstein-Barr virus and the flu, as well as infections caused by tick-borne pathogens, such as the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferiwhich causes Lyme disease.
To better understand this condition, academic researcher at the University of Aberdeen, Rosalind Adam, began a study with 40 people suffering from various forms of problematic fatigue, from long Covid patients to heart failure or cancer.
Patients were fitted with digital sensors that track a range of physical parameters, including breathing speed, body temperature, sleep quality, heart activity and activity levels. With them, an application was provided to assess their physical and mental fatigue throughout the day.
The goal is to use artificial intelligence to identify patterns in the data that could represent what Adam calls “fatigue types,” distinct characteristics that could be used to categorize subtypes of fatigue with greater precision. She hopes the findings could ultimately bring about more specific clinical trials for fatigue and possibly pave the way for new medications.
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Researchers don’t know exactly what causes the condition
- One of the theories about why Sars-CoV-2 and other viruses can cause post-viral fatigue is that small amounts of the virus can persist in some parts of the body.
- However, in other cases, the reason for muscle weakness and physical debilitation is believed to be a state of autoimmunity induced by the initial infection.
- It alters the behavior of immune cells, causing them to attack the very nerve fibers that allow muscles to contract.
- A third possibility refers to compromising waste elimination.
- Excessive work causes the mitochondria to generate a lot of oxidative stress, but the body is unable to clean itself properly, as the immune system is in a state of prolonged exhaustion.
- This situation can contribute to physical symptoms, such as mental fog and muscle fatigue, impairing our ability to move and function normally.
- The expectation is that the new study can increase scientific understanding of this condition.
- The information is from G1.
