Tziolos NR, Ioannou P, Baliou S, Kofteridis DP, et al.
Microorganisms. Date of publication 2023 Sep 30;volume 11(10):.
1. Microorganisms. 2023 Sep 30;11(10):2458. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11102458.
Long COVID-19 Pathophysiology: What Do We Know So Far?
Tziolos NR(1), Ioannou P(1)(2), Baliou S(2), Kofteridis DP(1)(2).
Author information:
(1)Department of Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases, University Hospital of
Heraklion, 71110 Heraklion, Greece.
(2)School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece.
Long COVID-19 is a recognized entity that affects millions of people worldwide.
Its broad clinical symptoms include thrombotic events, brain fog, myocarditis,
shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle pains, and others. Due to the binding of
the virus with ACE-2 receptors, expressed in many organs, it can potentially
affect any system; however, it most often affects the cardiovascular, central
nervous, respiratory, and immune systems. Age, high body mass index, female sex,
previous hospitalization, and smoking are some of its risk factors. Despite
great efforts to define its pathophysiology, gaps remain to be explained. The
main mechanisms described in the literature involve viral persistence,
hypercoagulopathy, immune dysregulation, autoimmunity, hyperinflammation, or a
combination of these. The exact mechanisms may differ from system to system, but
some share the same pathways. This review aims to describe the most prevalent
pathophysiological pathways explaining this syndrome.
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11102458
PMCID: PMC10609046
PMID: 37894116
Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
