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Those suffering from continuing life-limiting symptoms following an acute CoVid infection have significantly lower levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin compared with those who enjoy a full recovery.  University of Pennsylvania neurobiologists performed detailed metabolic analyses of 58 subjects with Long CoVid and compared them with those from 30 fully-recovered CoVid patients and with those from 60 patients currently suffering from acute Covid infections.

The data revealed that persons with Long CoVid not only lacked normal levels of serotonin but also that serotonin levels during and immediately following an acute infection predicted whether a person would fully recover.  Levels of other metabolites were either unchanged during acute CoVid infections or uniformly returned to normal following the infection.

This serotonin depletion that accompanies Long CoVid suggests that FDA-approved agents commonly used for managing depression, so called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs like Prozac, Zoloft and Lexapro that help to elevate serotonin levels, may help the tens of millions of Americans currently suffering from Long CoVid.

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)01034-6?_returnURL=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0092867423010346?showall=true

#longcovid #serotonin #ssri #depression