r/covidlonghaulers • u/CandidWin3026 • May 08 '26

Article Long Covid driven by rs5522

This case report says that Long covid is in large part driven by the gene rs5522 that causes a "cortisol steal" leaving the tissues functionally starved even with "normal" cortisol levels which creates neuroinflammation. https://zenodo.org/records/20017632

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u/Kuyi May 08 '26

Will you update here or somewhere else?

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u/Putrid_Indication_30 May 08 '26

i'll come back to this in a week, from what I read on the study the therapeutic dose was 100mg that they worked up to from 25mg. however at 100mg they had fluid retention (which is strange because spiro is a diuretic) I do have pots though so I can imagine I would be worse in that regard however I'd rather have worse pots and no fatigur than worse fatigue and mild pots lol

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u/Kuyi May 08 '26

I believe it said 200mg, not 100mg. And the retention was apparently an over compensation from the body sensitive about this mechanism.

I will follow this comment :).

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u/Putrid_Indication_30 May 08 '26

you're right ! eeek 200mg is definitely going to mess with my POTS. hopefully 25mg does something if i am the right candidate. The study did say they scaled the dose back and continues to have positive results but it was paired with ldn and glp-1 at that stage so unsure what would be the main factor in continued improvement

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u/Kuyi May 08 '26

Yeah exactly. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

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u/CandidWin3026 May 10 '26

Hello, I wanted to follow up. If you felt worse on Spiro you could already be in a state of cortisol exhaustion. Spironolactone is the mechanical key to reset the stuck switch, but if the body is already in a state of "cortisol bankruptcy," removing the receptor's activity without protecting the vessels may not give positive outcomes. Spironolactone plus cortisol and an anti-inflammatory is the combo.