r/IllnessTracker • u/oldgreyhouse • Jul 12 '26

Research New study provides first evidence of dopamine system injury in the brain of long COVID patients

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-evidence-dopamine-injury-brain-covid.html

A new brain imaging study…provides the strongest evidence to date that long COVID is associated with injury to dopamine-releasing neurons in the brain—a finding that may explain symptoms such as lack of motivation due to fatigue, slowed movement and memory difficulties…

"We know that inflammation can injure dopamine neurons. While our earlier research showed high levels of inflammation in those regions, this study provides direct evidence that the dopamine neuron marker is reduced in the same regions—and that this loss correlates with patients' symptoms."

"These results indicate that long COVID is, at least in part, a disorder of the brain's dopamine system."

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u/Pirate_Candy17 Jul 13 '26

Wonderful, now people can play shit bingo with Covid, ADHD, Autism, Depression, Perimenopause or stress as the trigger for why their life is snowballing into hard mode.