A New Long COVID Study Shows That Depression Is a Major Risk Factor for Long COVID. It Is Also a Major Cause of Endothelial Dysfunction!
Could Experiencing and Developing True Happiness Offer Powerful Protection and Therapy for COVID/Long COVID and Spike Protein Endothelial Disease (SPED)?
FIGURE 1: Markers of endothelial damage in blood samples. Bar diagrams showing in vivo levels of markers of endothelial damage: circulating endothelial cells (CEC) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) in whole blood samples (a, b), and von Willebrand factor (VWF) and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) in plasma samples (c, d). Graphs show levels of these markers in healthy controls (CON) and in major depression patients at the moment of diagnosis (MD-0), and after 8 and 24 weeks of antidepressant treatment (MD-8 and MD-24) with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor escitalopram. Results are expressed as mean±s.e.m. (n=12). *P<0.01 versus CON; #P<0.05 versus MD-0; §P<0.05 versus MD-8.
It is with great pleasure that I am able to provide some positive news this evening regarding COVID, its Spike Protein and SPED.
A paper posted today on medRxiv provided insight as to the factors which may indicate the development of Long COVID. I believe these very same factors may apply to those exposed to the Spike Protein of SARS-CoV-2. Interestingly, it appears that the ORIGINAL strain (therefore the original Wuhan Spike) seems to cause more incidence of Long COVID. This would fit in with my SPED hypothesis, it may also offer hope that as the Spike mutates, its ability to induce endothelial dysfunction may be somewhat reduced.
Let us look at what the study of 13,305 participants concluded:
In multivariable models, number of acute COVID-19 symptoms (OR 1.30 per symptom, 95%CI 1.20-1.40), lower socioeconomic status/financial insecurity (OR 1.62, 95%CI 1.02-2.63), pre-infection depression (OR 1.08, 95%CI 1.01-1.16), and earlier variants (OR 0.37 for Omicron compared to ancestral strain, 95%CI 0.15-0.90) were associated with Long COVID symptoms. Conclusions and Relevance: Variant wave, severity of acute infection, lower socioeconomic status and pre-existing depression are associated with Long COVID symptoms.
Factors Associated with Long Covid Symptoms in an Online Cohort Study
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.01.22282987v1
I believe why this study is very important is that it showed PRE-INFECTION DEPRESSION as a significant risk factor for developing Long COVID. Also, lower socio-economic status, which may indeed have a similar effect as depression due to the inherent life stresses involved with being in a lower socio-economic group.
I will refer to an excellent paper which I encourage all to read.
Inflammation and endothelial damage are mechanisms potentially connecting depression to cardiovascular disease. Results from the present study demonstrate significant elevation of different plasma markers of endothelial activation and damage in patients with major depression. Exposure to sera collected at the moment of diagnosis (MD-0) caused activation of endothelial cells, as measured by increases of ICAM-1, and oxidative stress with the production of ROS and lower presence of eNOS when compared with cells exposed to sera from healthy individuals.
Please note that markers of Depression are also intimately associated with other high-risk groups for COVID.
In previous studies, we reported a similar pattern of circulating markers in pathologies with an associated cardiovascular risk such as uremia, diabetes, obesity, myocardial infarction and stroke.
Interestingly, Serotonin was found to be involved in the THROMBOGENIC factors inherent in the depressed. Please review the figure at the beginning of the post for data regarding these factors.
Alteration in endothelial markers and responses may not totally explain the thrombogenicity usually associated with major depression patients by itself, but may still contribute to it together with other humoral factors, oxidative stress, inflammation and serotonergic mechanisms.
Endothelial damage in major depression patients is modulated by SSRI treatment, as demonstrated by circulating biomarkers and an in vitro cell model
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5048198/
It may be that having a positive outlook on life, being truly happy and, though cliché, loving and being kind to each other can perhaps prevent some complications of COVID and reduce the chance of developing Long COVID/SPED.
May I also point out that the three letter agencies and the MSM did a great disservice to all by brutally increasing the anxiety and depression levels of all (myself, of course, included) during the vast majority of the pandemic timeline.
I will be focusing on Escitalopram as a potential therapeutic this week for my Friday Hope post.
Thanks to all for your support as I continue to work.
More amazing and helpful information, Walter. I do believe happiness and living a peaceful life plays a big part in overall health.
There is a connection between magnesium deficiency and afib. And MANY are magnesium deficient even if their blood levels are normal - just my 2 cents.