The exact nature of long COVID is still coming to light, but we just got some of the best evidence yet that this debilitating condition stems from a brain injury.

Using high-resolution scanners, researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford have shown microscopic, structural abnormalities in the brainstems of those recovering from COVID-19.

Signs of brain inflammation were present up to 18 months after first contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"We show that the brainstem is a site of vulnerability to long-term effects of COVID-19, with persistent changes evident in the months after hospitalization," the authors of the study conclude.

https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae215

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[–] Klear@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago

A very bad cold or flu can totally damage your body and is how lots of older folks go unfortunately.

That was my view of COVID at the early stages of the pandemic. A lot of people were saying that it's just a bad flu. I thought it being a bad flu is terrifying.

An even so, having caught the damn thing three times now even through vaccines, I think my view back then was overly optimistic.