Survivors struggle as scientists compete to solve the mystery of COVID

There was no reason to celebrate Rachel Van Ria’s anniversary. On the same day that the pandemic was declared, she developed symptoms of COVID-19. A year later she is still waiting for them to disappear. And for experts to come up with some answers.

Women in Texas are one of thousands of self-proclaimed long-haul carriers who have prolonged or onset symptoms months after their first infection with the coronavirus. She first arrived on March 11, 2020.

This condition affects an uncertain number of survivors in a variety of ways.

“We are facing a mystery,” said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

Is it a condition specific to COVID-19, or is it a variation of the syndrome that can occur after other infections? How many people are affected and how long will it last? Is it a new form of chronic fatigue syndrome? Is it a condition with similar symptoms?

Alternatively, there are symptoms unrelated to COVID-19, but the physical response to the cataclysms of this past pandemic year—blockade, quarantine, quarantine, unemployment, racial insecurity, political turmoil, and overwhelming illness and death Needless to say.

These are the questions scientists face when looking for markers, treatments, and treatments for their illness. Collins’ agency, which received $ 1 billion from Congress, is designing and requesting a study aimed at tracking at least 20,000 people infected with COVID-19.

“This is unprecedented, as I have never actually faced a post-infection condition of this magnitude,” Collins said on Monday. “We have no time to waste.”

With about 30 million COVID-19 outbreaks in the United States and 119 million outbreaks worldwide, very few patients have long-term problems, but the impact is staggering. There is a possibility of becoming.

Fatigue, shortness of breath, insomnia, clear thinking difficulties, and depression are among the many reported symptoms. Organ damage such as lung scarring and heart inflammation has also been seen. It is one of the tasks of scientists to identify whether these symptoms are directly related to the virus or perhaps to an existing condition.

“Is it just a very slow recovery, or is it more alarming and new and normal?” Collins said.

There are some practical theories about what may be causing persistent symptoms. One is damage to tissues and organs, even though the virus remains in the body at undetectable levels. Alternatively, it overstimulates the immune system to prevent it from returning to normal. Third theory: When a virus attacks a blood vessel, it causes prolonged or new symptoms, causing fine, undetectable blood clots that can cause havoc throughout the body.

Some scientists believe that each of these can occur in different people.

Dr. Stephen Dikes, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, said researchers first needed to develop a widely accepted definition of the syndrome. The estimate is “on the map as a whole, because no one defines it the same way,” he said.

Deeks is leading one study, collecting blood and saliva samples from volunteers who are followed for up to two years.

Some people develop long-term problems, even if the initial infection is silent. According to Dikes, there is some evidence that people who get sick first with a coronavirus infection are more likely to develop persistent symptoms, and women appear to be more likely than men, but these observations confirm. Dikes said he needed to.

Vanria says she was in good shape when she got sick. At the age of 35, a suburban Austin woman had no other health problems and was a busy mother of three exercising well. My chest got cold first, and then I had a high fever. Her doctor tested COVID-19 as the flu test returned negative. Immediately after she developed a dazzling headache, debilitating malaise, and very severe nausea, she needed treatment in the emergency room.

“I was very scared because no one knew what would happen to me,” Van Lear said.

Symptoms may appear or disappear in the next few months: burning sensation in the lungs, tachycardia, dizziness, hand tremor, hair loss. Most have disappeared, but she is still dealing with the occasional beating of the race. Heart monitoring, blood tests, and other tests are all normal.

Fatigue, fever, and no taste or smell were the first symptoms of Karla Jefferies after being tested positive last March. Then came the mist of the brain, insomnia, the persistent smell of something that had just disappeared, and the intermittent ringing in her ears. Now she can’t hear from her left ear.

The doctor can’t find anything to explain it, and she yells when some doctors dismiss her symptoms.

“I understand that COVID is something we all experience together, but don’t offend me,” said Jeffreys, 64, a retired state worker in Detroit. It was.

As an African-American woman with diabetes and high blood pressure, she knows that she is at high risk of bad consequences and, fortunately, her first illness was less serious. However, her persistent symptoms and house arrest depressed her and caused depression.

The political and racial unrest that dominated the news was useless, and church worship (often her salvation) was interrupted. She knows everything that could have caused her health and says listening to music (R & B, jazz, a small country) helped her deal.

Still, Jeffreys wants to know what role the virus played.

“I’ve been in a year, and it still has some protracted consequences, but I don’t understand that,” Jeffreys said.

Jefferies and VanLear are one of several online support groups created during the pandemic and are members of Survivor Corps, which has thousands of members. Some have enrolled in research to speed up science.

Dr. Michael Sneller is leading a study at NIH. So far, 200 people have registered. They include survivors and healthy comparison groups.

They undergo a series of physical and mental examinations once or twice a year for three years. Other tests are looking for signs of ongoing inflammation, abnormal antibodies, or blood vessel damage.

Sneller said no serious heart or lung tissue damage has been found so far. He states that many viruses can cause mild heart inflammation, and even some cold viruses can. Many people recover, but in severe cases, this condition can lead to heart failure.

Fatigue is the most common symptom in the coronavirus group, and so far researchers have not found a medical explanation for it. Insomnia is also common — in both groups. Sneller says it’s not surprising.

“The pandemic and the entire blockade affected us all,” he said. “There is also a lot of anxiety in the control group.”

Many have symptoms similar to chronic disease syndrome. Certain mites spread the bacterial infection in conditions with fatigue and difficulty thinking that can develop after treatment for Lyme disease.

Researchers hope that long-term COVID-19 studies may provide answers to the causes of these conditions.