By Daniel Brouse
Email: help@membrane.com
Last Updated December 18, 2021
Long haulers syndrome is in part due to “an autoimmune response that makes you feel symptoms in waves, or due to stress, and anxiety that triggers your immune system.”
— Daniel Brouse (August, 2020)
My original description of long-COVID was, “It feels like my body is having lots of micro cytokine storms.” Now two years later, the hypothesis has been proven true. “‘It is important to note that the severity of disease in humans is not determined only by virus replication but also by the host immune response to the infection, which may lead to dysregulation of the innate immune system, i.e. “cytokine storm”‘ (Omicron SARS-CoV-2 can infect faster and better)
My gravest concerns about long-COVID remain the same — what are the long term consequences of my immune system attacking my healthy body?
Do recovered coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 patients have immunity?
Why do some people appear to be reinfected?
Maybe. Those who recover from COVID-19 appear to have some immunity.(1) “It’s reasonable to assume that there will be protection for a time frame of one to three years,” says Florian Krammer.(2) Though recent examples suggest immunity, if any, may be very short lived. The Omicron variant appears to escape immunity from both prior infection and vaccination.
It appears there are 2 different types of COVID damage: direct damage from the COVID infection, as well as, a variety of post-COVID syndromes. The direct damage appears to be dependent on the severity of the COVID infection (which likely has to do with viral load, age, and underlying conditions.) The post-COVID long haulers syndrome appears to have little to do with the severity of the COVID infection and more to do with the post-infection immune response.
Then, why do some people appear to get reinfected?
“Over the last 2 weeks, I’ve been working with my doctor about recurring symptoms. It turns out I have ‘long haulers’ syndrome. Every couple of weeks I go through a wave of symptoms. Though not as severe as the original experience, it is still not pleasant. The symptoms don’t come on all at the same time, rather they cycle through over two weeks or so (and not necessarily in the same order.) I’m not infected again, nor am I contagious.(3) The symptoms include:
* difficulty breathing (feeling like you’re not taking in enough oxygen)
* congestion / mild cough
* stomach issues / diarrhea
* loss of taste, smell, and appetite
* night sweats
* nightmares / vivid dreams
* dizziness / the spins / foggy thinking
* headaches / body aches / soreness
* fatigue
* ear aches
What causes the recurring COVID symptoms?
It is too early for a definitive answer; however, an examination of cases appear to point to an autoimmune response due to epigenetic changes caused by the virus.
Is the person still contagious? No.
How long will it take for the immune system to recognize that there is no longer a threat? It’s too early to tell. So far, symptoms have been observed for over 2 years. BUT, there are still many questions about COVID-19 and autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases.
“Emerging reports show that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection precedes the appearance of various autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases, including paediatric inflammatory multisystemic syndrome (PIMS) or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), thus adding to the growing mystery of this virus and raising questions about the nature of its link with autoimmune and autoinflammatory sequelae.” (4)
What is long haulers syndrome?
The vast majority of long haulers experience fluctuations both in the type and intensity of symptoms over the course of being symptomatic.(5)
Research is pointing to “an autoimmune response due to changes in the genes of the infected host” for causing “long haulers syndrome” in adults. “Support groups on Facebook include thousands of people who say they have been wrestling with serious COVID-19 symptoms for at least a month, if not two or three. The groups have coined a name for themselves: ‘long-haulers.’ But their lives have been irrevocably changed by the onslaught of symptoms — relentless and rolling waves of fever, headache, nausea, and the terrifying inability to catch their breath. For Roberts, it’s robbed her of time. ‘I was so good. This COVID-19 has stolen my life,’ she says.” (6)
According to a WHO report, most people fall into one of two groups when it comes to the virus. Approximately 80% of those with COVID-19 end up having a mild response and most of those cases resolve in about two weeks. For people who have a severe response to the virus, it can take between three and six weeks to recover.
But now, there is growing concern over a separate group that doesn’t seem to fall into either of those categories. A number of people are now reporting lingering symptoms of the illness for one, two or even three months. This new group is mixed with those who experienced both mild and severe cases. As health experts step in to try to manage these patients and learn more, many are referring to this group as coronavirus “long-haulers” or “long-termers.”
“We’re now seeing a percentage of patients whose symptoms seem to be lasting a while,” explains family medicine provider Christopher Babiuch, MD. “This is challenging because everyone’s needs are so unique. We’re finding that collaborating as a team between different specialists helps to manage and support these patients, but there’s a lot that we just don’t know yet.” (7)
What is actually causing the immune system to have an autoimmune disconnect?
All the research is still theoretical. More studies and longer recovery times are required to confirm the theories. So, we still do not know for sure about the antigen presentation of COVID-19.
Possibly for the longhaulers it’s cytokine imbalance which causes an Down Regulating NAD+, * Up Regulating IDO, Rogue Antibodies, and other conditions that result from genetic changes. The symptomatology improves vastly with NAD+ precursors but if cellular damage or organ damage is to occur the damage is likely permanent.
“The SARS-CoV-2 hyperinflammatory response is associated with high mortality. This hypothesis suggests that a deficiency of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) may be the primary factor related to the SARS-Cov-2 disease spectrum and the risk for mortality, as subclinical nutritional deficiencies may be unmasked by any significant increase in oxidative stress.
NAD+ levels decline with age and are also reduced in conditions associated with oxidative stress as occurs with hypertension, diabetes and obesity. These groups have also been observed to have high mortality following infection with COVID-19. Further consumption of NAD+ in a pre-existent depleted state is more likely to cause progression to the hyperinflammatory stage of the disease through its limiting effects on the production of SIRT1,” said Ade Wentzel, co-author of the research.(9)
Does an auto-immune disconnect explain all long haulers’ symptoms?
No. Evidence is mounting that long haulers are unique and may have a variety of ailments. Many post-viral COVID cases exhibit the Lyme-like autoimmune disfuntions. Many also exhibit symptoms, such as, dysautonomia (10)(11). Long haulers have reported over 100 different symptoms. COVID appears to impact many of the body’s systems including respiratory, circulatory, cardiovascular, neurological, and immune systems to name a few. This makes diagnosis and treatment very confusing for doctors. And, those aren’t the only difficulties. An additional problem for diagnosing is memory T-cells. Some people’s memory T-cells may be getting erased. That means your body does not recognize previous infections nor vaccines. So, long haulers syndrome may be a combination of new conditions (Lyme-like autoimmune, dysautonomia, chronic fatigue, etc.) AND re-infections to everything you use to be immune to… with no one person having the same ailments as another.
Is there a treatment or cure for long haulers syndrome?
No. Currently, there is no cure or treatment for the onset of these autoimmune responses. The closest comparison appears to be when Lyme disease was first discovered or HIV.
Ade Wentzel replied: You can take nicotinic acid orally or niagen (if you have deep pockets). The IV will help, but however you supplement, you need to keep going for at least a good few months.
Ade has developed a protocol for a NAD+ deficiency: NAD+: Vitamin B3, Vitamin D and sunlight, Vitamin C, Quercetin, Zinc, and Selenium
FOOTNOTES:
0. Technically speaking a virus is never alive. It is only RNA. Dead is not the scientifically correct way to describe it. But, in all essence, the virus is dead.
REFERENCES:
1. Potent antibodies found in people recovered from COVID-19 (NIH)
2. How Long Will Immunity To The Coronavirus Last? (NPR)
3. COVID-19 Testimonial (The Membrane Domain)
4. Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases following COVID-19 (Nature)
5. COVID-19 Prolonged Symptoms Survey – Analysis Report (MIT)
6.What It’s Like When COVID-19 Lasts For Months (NPR)
7. What It Means to Be a Coronavirus “Long-Hauler” (Cleveland Clinic)
8. Study: COVID-19 antibodies decay quickly after mild illness (University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy)
9. COVID-19: NAD+ deficiency may predispose the aged, obese and type2 diabetics to mortality through its effect on SIRT1 activity (Science Direct)
10. Dysautonomia: An Overlooked Neurological Manifestation in a Critically ill COVID-19 Patient (NIH)
11. Redefining Covid-19: Months after infection, patients report breathing difficulty, excessive fatigue (CNN)
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES:
A. Long-term consequences of COVID-19: research needs (The Lancet)
B. Humoral Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 in Iceland (New England Journal of Medicine)
C. Is a Bradykinin Storm Brewing in COVID-19? (The Scientist)
D. The Power of Antibody-Based Surveillance (New England Journal of Medicine)
E. Coronavirus Infection and PARP Expression Dysregulate the NAD Metabolome: A Potentially Actionable Component of Innate Immunity bioRxiv
G. Relationships between hyperinsulinaemia, magnesium, vitamin D, thrombosis and COVID-19: rationale for clinical management British Cardiovascular Society
