My Long Covid Advocacy on LinkedIn: Cartoon characters to help Pima County spread the word about Long COVID (2024)

You’re More Likely to Get Heart Issues From COVID-19 Than the VaccineByAlice ParkEvery medical intervention comes with both benefits and risks. For vaccinations, the benefits greatly outweigh any potential hazards in most people.The new COVID-19 vaccines based on mRNA technology are no exception. But one risk associated with them—myocarditis, especially for young men—has raised concerns among the public.A new studypublished inJAMAhas found that the risk associated with getting myocarditis—which is inflammation of the heart muscle, often triggered by the immune system as it responds to an infection—shortly after getting the COVID-19 vaccine is lower than the risk that can come from getting the disease.Researchers led by Dr. Mahmoud Zureik, professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Versailles, studied people ages 12 to 49 who had been hospitalized with myocarditis in France from Dec. 2020 to June 2022, when mass vaccination campaigns were taking place. They sorted people into three groups: people who developed myocarditis and were hospitalized within seven days of receiving an mRNA shot, those who were admitted to the hospital within 30 days of getting COVID-19 but had not had an mRNA vaccine in the prior seven days, or people who had myocarditis that was due to other causes. Everyone was followed for 18 months.In that time period, people with vaccine-related myocarditis were half as likely to be readmitted to the hospital for myocarditis or heart-related events compared to those with infection-related myocarditis or people with myocarditis due to other causes.The findings indicate that the risk of myocarditis linked to the mRNA vaccines “is very, very low,” says Zureik. And it's important to remember that the risk of COVID-19 to the heart "is not limited to myocarditis. There are other cardiovascular risks as well."The results are timely, asCOVID-19 casesandemergency room visitscontinue to climb in the U.S.. The increases are due in part to new variants and waning immunity people have from their last vaccines, which targeted different versions of SARS-CoV-2. That's why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recentlyapproved an updated versionof the vaccine to recognize the currently circulating variants. But uptake of recent shots has been low.Continued.....click on banner image below to access entire article.Posted by Larry Cole

The causal relationship model of factors influencing COVID-19 preventive behaviors during the post-pandemic era and implications for health prevention strategies.AbstractBackgroundThough, many countries are currently in the COVID post-pandemic era, people’s health protective behaviours are still essential to protect their health and well-being. This study aims to evaluate people’s understanding and perceptions of COVID-19 risk characteristics (i.e. threat occurrence, threat severity, perceived susceptibility and exposure), the health risk perception towards COVID-19, and health protective behaviours. The study also aims to estimate the associations among these factors by the analysis of structural equation modelling (SEM).MethodsFrom 15 October to 9 November 2022, questionnaire surveys were administrated to 521 people living in Bangkok of Thailand by using the convenience sampling technique. The analyses were carried out in three phases including descriptive statistical analyses, a measurement model assessment using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis.ResultsThe results of descriptive analyses demonstrated that the majority of respondents, 39.9%, had the age between 20 and 30 years old, and 61.4% of them were female. Approximately 52.1% of them had a bachelor’s degree. Upon analysing individuals’ understanding and perceptions of all risk characteristics, individuals’ understanding of COVID-19 severity did not statistically affect health risk perception towards COVID-19, whereas perceived exposure had the strongest effect and in turn influenced health protective behaviours. Perceived susceptibility and understanding of the threat occurrence also significantly affected health risk perception, and indirectly affected health protective behaviours.ConclusionsThis study implies that though the potential health impact of COVID-19 is perceived as less severe, people can still construct a perception of its risk particularly based on their perceived exposure and susceptibility. Thus, communicating people about exposure conditions and susceptibility can greatly contribute to people’ construction of risk perception towards COVID-19 which subsequently leads to the decision to perform health protective behaviours.Continued.....please click on image in banner below to access the entire study results, its authors and their reference materials.Posted by Larry Cole

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Individually tailored exercise in patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome related to post-COVID-19 condition – a feasibility studyAbstractPostural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) occurs in approximately 30% of people with highly symptomatic post-COVID-19 condition (PCC). It involves several symptoms that limit physical and psychological functions and cause reduced quality of life. Evidence for different treatments of POTS and PCC is limited, and this study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of individually tailored physical exercise. The secondary aim of the study was to evaluate the preliminary effectiveness of this intervention. Twenty-six participants (81% female, median age 41 years) were enrolled and performed individually tailored endurance and strength training, with progression, for twelve weeks. During the intervention period, the participants had weekly support from a physiotherapist. Feasibility was evaluated with good compliance, with 76% adherence to exercise prescription and 96% completing the study protocol. The treatment was safe, and the evaluation methods (questionnaires, physical assessments, and accelerometer monitoring) were judged to be feasible. After the intervention, improvements in symptom burden as well as in psychological and physical functions were observed. In conclusion, future randomized controlled trials can be performed with only minor adjustments and could include questionnaires, physical assessment and accelerometer monitoring, which were demonstrated as feasible by this study.Continued.....click on image in the banner below to access entire study, its authors and their reference materials.Posted by Larry Cole

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Psychiatric and Cognitive Symptoms in Once-Hospitalized Long COVID Patients Increased at 2- to 3-Year Follow-UpBy Paul J. Harrison, MA, BM. BCh, DM (Oxon), FRCPsychProfessor of PsychiatryAssociate Head of Department (Research)Co-chair, Oxford Neuroscience CommitteeHead of Translational Neurobiology GroupHonorary Consultant Psychiatrist, Oxford Health NHS Foundation TrustGoverning Body Fellow, Wolfson CollegeUniversity of OxfordStory highlightsIn a long follow-up study of cognitive and psychiatric symptoms in adults who were hospitalized with acute COVID-19 infections, researchers found that the burden of such symptoms increased 2 to 3 years following hospitalization, when compared with symptoms 6 and 12 months after.__________Researchers in the UK have reported results of what is likely the longest follow-up study to date of cognitive and psychiatric symptoms in adults who were hospitalized with acute COVID-19 infections.Overall, they found that the burden of such symptoms increased 2 to 3 years following hospitalization, when compared with symptoms 6 and 12 months after. This was due to both worsening of existing symptoms and the emergence of new symptoms. Results appeared in the journalLancet Psychiatry. They call new attention to the problem of “long COVID.”The team, which was led byPaul J. Harrison, FRCPsych, of the University of Oxford, a 2004 BBRF Independent Investigator, surveyed a subset of the large Posthospitalization COVID-19 Study (PHOSP-COVID) that involved nearly 8,000 individuals who were released after being treated for COVID at 83 UK National Health Service-participating hospitals between 2020 and 2021.The new study, called C-Fog, involved 475 PHOSP-COVID participants who consented to be recontacted for follow-up research. This cohort, 40% female, average age 58, completed a multipart computerized cognitive assessment and various questionnaires about their mental health and employment status. These were submitted between 2 and 3 years following participants’ original admission to hospital for COVID.The many shorter-term studies on COVID-19 that have been conducted since the emergence of the virus have established that infection is associated with increased risks of neuropsychiatric disorders, includingdepression,anxiety, and cognitive deficits, either in isolation or as part of a “post-COVID syndrome,” often called long COVID. These risks are higher in people who were admitted to the hospital for COVID, studies based on electronic health records have indicated.Continued.....please click on the image in the banner below to access the entire article along with references.Posted by Larry Cole

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Wegovy Reduced Covid Deaths in Obese Patients, Study ShowsBy Madison MullerNovo Nordisk A/S’s Wegovy reduced deaths and illness from Covid in a large study that took place during the pandemic, more evidence of the blockbuster shot’s benefits beyond weight loss. The findings, published Friday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, provide a deeper analysis of Novo’s largest Wegovy trial, called Select. When the pandemic hit, the research was already enrolling more than 17,600 people with obesity, now known to be a risk factor for severe Covid, and heart disease. While insurers and lawmakers assail prices for weight-loss treatments, Novo and Eli Lilly and Company, the maker of rival drug Zepbound, are striving to show their costly drugs offer broad benefits that merit coverage from insurers and government health plans. Last year, results from the Select study showed that patients on Wegovy were 20% less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke than those on placebo, later opening the door to broader insurance coverage. How the drug might have helped Covid patients still isn’t completely clear. The research “highlights the relationship between obesity and Covid disease severity,” said barry popkin, a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health who wasn’t involved in the study. “We do not know if this relates to the reduced lung capacity of individuals with obesity or other pathways such as reduced inflammation.”When Covid emerged, no one suspected that Wegovy, made with the active ingredient semaglutide, would reduce deaths from the virus wreaking havoc across the world, according to Donna Ryan, a professor emeritus at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who helped write the study. The latest results underscore the drug’s far-reaching effects on metabolism and inflammation, important factors in the body’s response to infection and other types of disease. Continued....please click on image in banner below to access entire article. Posted by Larry Cole

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MediciNova, Inc. Receives Notice of Allowance from United States Patent and Trademark Office for New Patent Covering MN-166 (ibudilast) for the Post-COVID ConditionMediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company traded on the NASDAQ Global Market (NASDAQ:MNOV) and the Standard Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Code Number: 4875), announces that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a pending patent application, which covers MN-166 (ibudilast) for post-COVID conditions. The Method of Use patent covers administering a therapeutically effective doses of ibudilast (or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof) to alleviate a range of post-COVID conditions including anxiety, fatigue, depression, shortness of breath, post-traumatic stress disorder, chest tightness, palpitations, smell or taste dysfunction, sleep difficulties, hair loss, and rash.The claim method allows for MN-166 (ibudilast) to be administered alone or in combination with other active agents, including corticosteroids, NSAIDs, SSRIs, and more. The allowed claims cover oral administration, intravenous administration, subcutaneous injection, intramuscular injection, and inhalation administration. The allowed claims cover a wide range of doses, a range of different dosing frequencies, and a range of different treatment periods. Once issued, this patent is expected to expire no earlier than November 2042. Kazuko Matsuda, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., MediciNova’s Chief Medical Officer commented, “This additional patent for ibudilast provides additional opportunities for us to maintain exclusivity in areas where research is underway. We remain dedicated to addressing the complex and persistent health challenges posed by COVID-19 through key partnerships, such as our current collaboration with University Health Network in Canada, where a Phase 2/3 clinical trial in Long COVID is ongoing. We believe that ibudilast may offer hope to millions of patients suffering from post-COVID conditions, providing a versatile and effective therapeutic option. Since we have committed to move forward to apply New Drug Application when the study shows positive outcome, we plan to initiate the discussion with Health Canada when the RECLAIM study shows the positive data.”Continued....please click on image in banner below to access the entire MediciNova, Inc. announcement. Posted by Larry Cole

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Medicine’s Grace McComsey discusses “long COVID” symptomsThere’s no good lab test to spot long COVIDHealth Day:Grace McComsey, professor and vice dean of clinical and translational research attheSchool of Medicine, discussed “long COVID” symptoms,agroup of health problems persisting or developing after an initial period of COVID-19 infection, which can last weeks, months or years and are often debilitating. “Untilareliable biomarker is found,thebest diagnostic modality… remainstheold-fashioned history-taking and clinical assessment,” she said.By Dennis ThompsonKey Takeaways--- No lab test can be used to diagnose Long COVID--- Out of 25 standard blood and urine tests, none could sort people with Long COVID from healthy people--- Future research will focus on coming up with new lab testsNo lab test can reliably indicate whether or not someone is suffering from Long COVID, a major new study finds.None of 25 standard lab blood and urine tests proved useful in diagnosing Long COVID, according to results published Aug. 13 in theAnnals of Internal Medicine."Our study shows patients can have severe Long COVID with normal lab results,” said lead researcherDr. Kristine Erlandson, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.“This suggests doctors should not focus on the results of blood panels to diagnose Long COVID, but should focus more on symptoms and ways to help patients get relief by treating their symptoms," Erlandson added in a university news release.About 7% of adults in the United States -- nearly 18 million people -- have Long COVID, researchers said in background notes.Long COVID typically develops weeks after an initial infection withCOVID-19, and can involve a plethora of symptoms that plague a person for months or even years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.For this study, researchers analyzed data from more than 10,000 people participating in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiative called RECOVER, which is aimed at better understanding Long COVID.About 86% of the participants have had a prior COVID infection.Continued.....click on URL below to read the entire study. https://lnkd.in/gNm_mceV Posted by

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Does Long COVID Lead to Alzheimer’s? A New Study Took an Unexpected TurnBySimon Spichak, MSc A study into whether long COVID patients were more prone to Alzheimer's instead opened the door to new treatments for long COVID itself.More thanone in ten peoplewho catch COVID don’t fully recover — developing a chronic condition called Long COVID which causes a variety of debilitating symptoms, including brain fog. Since some studies have found that COVID infections are associated withoverall brain shrinkage, altered brain structure, and an increasedrisk of developing Alzheimer’s, researchers have been investigating the links between COVID and Alzheimer’s.“There was a lot of discussion about whether COVID or even Long COVID would lead to a sudden onset form of Alzheimer’s disease so we set out to determine whether that was the case,” Dr. William Hu, director at the Center for Healthy Aging Research at Rutgers University told Being Patient.Hu’snew study, published in Cell Reports Medicine, analyzed the cerebrospinal fluid and immune cells of Long COVID patients with brain fog. Rather than finding the telltale signs of Alzheimer’s, he discovered the patient’s immune system was still trying to fight off the COVID infection, which occurred about nine months prior. The patients whose immune cells mounted an antiviral response started to feel better — opening the door to new potential treatments for Long COVID that boost the body’s antiviral response.What the study foundThe researchers looked at a group of participants from COVID recovery clinics, comparing 100 without any cognitive complaints, 79 who had abnormal results on a cognitive assessment indicating cognitive impairment, and 57 who complained about cognitive issues even though they scored normally on a cognitive test. Hu and his colleagues took cerebrospinal fluid and blood from both groups of people with cognitive complaints to measure protein biomarkers and look at what genes the immune cells are turning on or off to see whether there was an overlap with Alzheimer’s disease. “We did not find significant numbers of people with Alzheimer’s disease markers in the cerebrospinal fluid,” Hu said. “The many molecular pathways being active in Long COVID do not correspond to Alzheimer’s disease.”Continued.....please click on image in banner below to access the rest of this article and the audio clip included.Posted by Larry Cole

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COVID-Related Mortality in U.S. Drops SignificantlyBy Ethan CoveyProvisional data on mortality in the United States during 2023 show that COVID-19–related deaths fell considerably, dropping by nearly 70% from 2022 rates.Overall, the study reports that deaths in 2023 decreased from the prior year; decreases were seen in most of the leading causes of death, and for most age groups (MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep2024;73[31]:677-681).“Provisional death estimates can give researchers and policymakers an early signal about shifts in mortality trends and provide actionable information sooner than do the final mortality data,” said Farida B. Ahmad, MPH, of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).The study focused on data from the NCHS National Vital Statistics System, which collects and reports annual mortality statistics from U.S. death certificates.The provisional data showed that 3,090,582 deaths occurred in the United States during 2023, and that the age-adjusted death rate fell 6.1% from 2022 to 2023. Age-adjusted death rates were highest among non-Hispanic Blacks, and lowest among non-Hispanic multiracial individuals.The three leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer and unintentional injury. COVID-19, which had been the fourth leading cause of death during 2022, dropped to 10th place. COVID-19–associated deaths dropped 68.9% from 2022, and fell among all age groups. In 2023, COVID-19 was the underlying cause for 1.6% of all deaths, a decrease from 5.7% during 2022.“These data can guide public health policies and interventions that are intended to reduce mortality,” Ms. Ahmad said. (Ms. Ahmad reported no relevant financial disclosures.)Posted by Larry Cole

Annals of Family Medicine: New Research Reveals Major Disconnect Between Patient Expectations and Experiences in Long COVID CareAs post-COVID-19 Conditions or "Long COVID" continues to challenge millions of Americans, a new study published inAnnals of Family Medicinereveals that patients frequently face barriers and frustrations when seeking care. The study, titled "Challenges in Receiving Long COVID Care: A Qualitative Interview Study Among Primary Care Patients About Their Expectations and Experiences," shows a major disconnect between the expectations of long-COVID patients and the realities of the U.S. health care system.Between 2022 and 2023, researchers conducted 20 interviews with primary care patients from a long COVID triage clinic at theUniversity of Utah, analyzing 19 of these interviews. Participants averaged 54 years old, and 53% were female. Most participants were first infected with COVID-19 in 2020 (32%) or 2021 (47%). In this qualitative study, authors sampled exclusively primary care patients in the U.S., offering unique insights into the challenges these patients face.Key Findings:Patient Expectations:Participants described two main categories of expectations: those for their practitioners and those for treatment. Patients expected their primary care practitioners to be knowledgeable about post-COVID Conditions and attentive to their individual conditions. For treatment expectations, patients expected to engage in collaborative processes with their practitioner.Patient Experiences:The study revealed two types of patient experiences. Positive interactions with practitioners occurred when providers were honest and validating, while negative experiences were marked by patients feeling dismissed or discouraged. Additionally, patients described significant challenges in navigating the fragmented U.S. health care system, particularly in coordinating care, treatment, testing, and payment."While many systemic barriers are largely out of providers' control, validation and continuous support from PCPs, alongside coordinated care and communication among the care team, might improve care quality for patients with long COVID," the authors write.Despite facing numerous barriers and frustrations, patients expressed a strong desire to collaborate with their health care providers to improve treatment outcomes. Primary care practitioners and other health care professionals can better align patients' experiences with their expectations by listening to their concerns, validating their symptoms, and advocating for their needs. These actions are essential for delivering patient-centered, effective care and ultimately improving health outcomes for long-COVID patients.Continued....click on the banner below to access and finish reaqding this piece. Posted by Larry Cole

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