Canadian Study Finds 18% Fewer Dopamine Nerve Endings in Long COVID Patients
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 10
Canadian Study Finds 18% Fewer Dopamine Nerve Endings in Long COVID Patients
1 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 10
Summary
PET scans of 24 adults with long COVID found about 18% fewer dopamine nerve endings than in 24 healthy peers, offering visible evidence of brain changes tied to new-onset apathy and depression.
The losses appeared in the striatum, where reduced ventral-striatum signaling tracked lower motivation, while damage in the putamen and caudate was linked to slower movement, longer task times, memory decline and word-recall problems.
Researchers detected the damage in patients living with long COVID for up to 4.6 years, using a radiotracer targeting VMAT2—a biomarker already used in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.
The findings may help create a diagnostic test and guide treatment: University of Toronto neurochemist Jeffrey Meyer said a dopamine-targeting drug will be tested in an upcoming clinical trial.
No validated tests or evidence-based treatments for long COVID currently exist, even though the condition is estimated to affect at least 65 million people worldwide.