NEW evidence from a prospective cohort study suggests that elevated plasma phosphorylated tau (pTau-181) may be a critical biomarker in patients experiencing neurological post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (N-PASC), particularly among essential workers.
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Topic: N95 respiratorsView all posts for the topic: N95 respirators
Experts Call For N95s To Replace Surgical Masks As Flu, Covid Viruses Spread
Nationally, we are seeing very high levels of influenza and, again, a growing wave of COVID-19 infections. A new variant of influenza A H3N2 called subclade K is driving some of this epidemic. Subclade K has already appeared in Japan and Europe and is more severe, especially in the elderly and very young.
Last week, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reported 39,945 hospital admissions, up from 33,301 admissions the week before. While numbers have varied some week to week, they have been relatively high. There have been 19 pediatric deaths so far this season. The CDC estimates that there have been at least 15,000,000 illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations, and 7,400 deaths from flu so far this season.
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Increased levels of Alzheimer’s-linked protein found in some with long COVID
A study of 227 individuals who experienced neurocognitive difficulties post COVID-19 infection—such as headaches, vertigo, balance dysregulation, changes in taste/smell, and brain fog—displayed a significant increase in their blood plasma of a crucial protein called tau, which is found in nerves and especially in the brain. Excess levels of tau are linked to neurodegenerative diseases and found in many Alzheimer’s patients.
Published in eBioMedicine, the study suggests that people who experience long COVID neurocognitive symptoms could be at further risk for neurodegenerative diseases.
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Workplace exposures tied to higher risk of long COVID
Work-related factors may increase the risk of developing long COVID, according to a new population-based study from Spain.
The findings, published in BMJ Occupational & Environmental Medicine, suggest that the primary work-related drivers of increased long COVID risk were irregular or limited use of respirators, close contact with coworkers and/or the public, inability to physical distance, and use of public transportation to commute to work.
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Occupational Factors Strongly Influence Long-COVID Risk
A large Catalan cohort study shows that healthcare, social care, education, retail, and transport workers are at higher risk for Long-COVID
Work-related factors play a significant and independent role in the risk of developing Long-COVID, shows a new study based on the COVICAT cohort and led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation, in collaboration with the University of Turin and the Germans Trias i Pujol Institute (IGTP). The findings, published in BMJ Occupational & Environmental Medicine, highlight that a substantial share of Long-COVID could be prevented through targeted workplace measures and policies.
The public health impact of Long-COVID is far from over. Beyond ongoing infections that continue to cause illness and deaths worldwide, millions of people are living with lasting health consequences. Globally, around 6 in every 100 COVID-19 cases develop Long-COVID, amounting to 400 million affected people and an annual economic impact of roughly 1 trillion dollars, or 1% of the global economy.
Comments closedTopic: cognitive issuesView all posts for the topic: cognitive issues
COVID-19 leaves a lasting mark on the human brain
COVID-19 does not just affect the respiratory system, but also significantly alters the brain in people who have fully recovered from the infectious disease, highlighting the long-term neurological impact of the virus.
Researchers from Griffith University’s National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Disease (NCNED) used advanced MRI techniques to ascertain the neurological implications of COVID-19 compared with those who had never been infected.
The research provided compelling evidence that even in the absence of ongoing symptoms, prior infection with the virus could leave a measurable imprint on the brain.
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Long-COVID research just got a big funding boost: will it find new treatments?
The German government has committed half a billion euros to research into long COVID and other post-infection syndromes.
In a major boost to research on long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), the German government has announced that it will provide €500 million (US$582 million) in research funding to support a National Decade Against Post-Infectious Diseases from 2026 to 2036.
Germany is one of many countries facing an unprecedented health burden owing to long COVID and other post-infection syndromes since the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost one in five people in a German cohort had long COVID in 2022, and around one in seven people in the United States were affected by long COVID by late 2023. This translates to a considerable burden on health care and the economy — the syndrome is estimated to cost the world economy US$1 trillion every year.
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National survey finds virtual health ‘essential’ for Long COVID support: SFU report
Preliminary results of a national survey conducted by researchers at the Simon Fraser University Faculty of Health Sciences (SFU FHS) has found that Canadians with Long COVID identified virtual healthcare services as essential to their care.
“Many of the 621 survey respondents from across the country shared how lifesaving and essential these virtual services are in providing accessibility to care that reduces risk of infections, travel time, and PEM”, shared FHS Research Fellow Kayli Jamieson, who also has Long COVID herself.
PEM, or Post-Exertional Malaise, is common in many people with Long COVID, meaning that physical, mental, or sensory activity triggers can cause a flare-up in symptoms lasting from hours to weeks. It is one of many factors that contributes to the chronic and frequently disabling nature of Long COVID.
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Women are three times more likely than men to get severe long COVID: Here’s why
Research published today in Cell Reports Medicine reveals key biological differences that may explain why women with long COVID — especially those who develop chronic fatigue syndrome — tend to experience more severe and persistent symptoms than men do.
Post COVID-19 condition, or long COVID, is diagnosed when neurological, respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms develop or continue three months or more after an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The likelihood of developing long COVID is three times higher for women than men, but until now the underlying biological mechanisms driving this disparity have remained unknown.
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COVID vaccination cuts risk of long-term symptoms in teens by over a third, data suggest
The risk of long COVID was 36% lower in adolescents vaccinated within 6 months before their first infection than in their unvaccinated peers, suggests an analysis of US Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) trial data published late last week in Vaccine.
The study, led by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers, involved 724 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years who were vaccinated against COVID-19 within the previous 6 months and 507 unvaccinated youth matched on sex, symptom onset, and enrollment date.
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CBC’s Flagship Program Platforms “Quackery” for Long COVID
On October 26th, CBC’s flagship program The National aired an interview featuring former CBC host Gill Deacon discussing her recovery from Long COVID using a brain retraining program and promoting her upcoming book.
Although host Ian Hanomansing clarified on air that Deacon doesn’t endorse the brain retraining therapy, the segment still provided national coverage for an unproven therapy. The National failed to mention that there’s no strong evidence CBT, and related brain retraining programs, are effective for Long COVID. The specific brain retraining course Deacon used to recover, according to her Substack, the Lightning Process, has been accused of exploiting people with Long COVID.
At best, this suggests The National did not conduct sufficient background research that would have flagged the problematic nature of the Lightning Process. At worst, the program may have been aware of the concerns surrounding the Lightning Process but chose not to mention it.
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This Physicist Says We Don’t Take COVID Seriously Enough
If you think the COVID pandemic is done and ever-evolving variants pose no significant threat, consider these two realities.
The first is a recent U.S. study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It tracked 150 million workers and their absences in the workplace in the United States since the end of the so-called public health emergency in 2023.
Its central conclusion: “Health-related absences from work continued to track COVID-19 circulation and were 12.9 per cent higher in the post-pandemic period compared with before the pandemic (140,000 monthly absences).” Absences were highest in occupations with the greatest exposure to the public.
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Video | Long COVID is underdiagnosed, researchers say, and there’s work to be done to change that
St. John’s hosted the 2025 Canadian Symposium on Long COVID earlier this month, a gathering of top researchers, clinicians, and people living with long COVID. As the CBC’s Adam Walsh reports, those on the symposium floor say more needs to be done to bring awareness to the condition as it continues to impact people of all ages.
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