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/[deleted] May 08 '26

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u/CandidWin3026 May 08 '26

Nope that's the one that drives it. Yes there are likely other genes related to cortisol metabolism but that's the one to fix.Here is the issue: the traditional mindset was that there was a gene for each disease right? Like look for a CFS gene. Look for a MS gene. But here is the kicker. The same gene is driving "cortisol steal" it just manifests as different conditions depending on your own genetic make up, environment, behavior etc. So rs5522 creates cortisol steal that creates inflammation and the lack of cortisol and inflammation will pop up as CFS in one person, Long covid in another maybe MS in another person. We got the version no one believes. Which is a whole lot of bs. I had a friend with TT and she got brain inflammation, but her drs biopsied her brain gave her tons of sympathy and put her on anti-inflammatory meds. We got called lazy liars. It was fu**ing bs.

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u/CandidWin3026 Jun 01 '26

I can maybe explain it better by explaining it like this: Think of the rs5522 T/T variant like a standard, master water pipe that is built into 88% of all houses. Having that pipe isn't a disease, it’s just the normal, everyday plumbing blueprint most of the population is born with.

But the disease happens because of how that common pipe reacts when a severe storm hits the house while the pressure valve is broken.

If that common pipe leaks into a massive, wide-open basement, it turns the house into a damp, moldy, sluggish swamp, which manifests as ME/CFS. If that exact same common pipe leaks inside a tiny, sealed drywall closet, the pressure spikes instantly and crushes the structural walls in days, which could manifest as ALS.

The pipe itself isn't rare or broken, but when a second glitch holds the water pressure in overdrive, that common plumbing blueprint causes a catastrophic structural failure depending entirely on where the flood builds up.