Infection with the corona virus is not without risks. In the course of the last two years, more and more infected people complained about persistent tiredness, memory problems and muscle weakness even months after the illness.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 10 to 20 percent of those infected with Covid suffer from Long Covid symptoms. Why this occurs, however, was unknown for a long time. Now a Spanish research team has come a little closer to solving the riddle.
Study by epidemiologist shows: “One in five suffers from long-term consequences”(01:24)
Vagus nerve – that’s behind it
“Most of our long-Covid patients showed a number of functional and structural changes in the vagus nerve,” write the doctors at the city hospital in Badalona. “These included thickening of the nerve, difficulty swallowing and impaired breathing. Our findings suggest that the vagus nerve is central to Long Covid.”
The vagus nerve is one of the largest nerves in the human body and performs some very important tasks. It connects the brain with the heart, lungs and digestive tract and controls the heart rate. It is also involved in speech, the gag reflex and the transport of food from the mouth to the stomach.
The researchers assume that Long Covid symptoms are due to direct damage to the vagus nerve. They studied 348 long-Covid patients, two-thirds (228) of whom showed at least one symptom suggestive of a damaged vagus nerve.
Symptoms lasted an average of 14 months
From these 228 subjects, 22 people were examined more closely. A total of 19 people had at least three symptoms that can be traced back to the vagus nerve. In six people, a change in the vagus nerve was even detected by ultrasound. The symptoms lasted a total of 14 months on average.
Although some findings from the study have already been published, it is ongoing and could provide further important clues as to the causes of Long Covid. The researchers give themselves until April. Further results will then be presented at a congress in Portugal.