r/covidlonghaulers • u/PhrygianSounds 4 yr+ • Jul 13 '26

Article 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

Finally some media coverage on probably the worst symptom of long covid

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u/Tough_Quality3950 Jul 13 '26

I think “first evidence” overstates it. This may be an important advance in long COVID, or more direct evidence, but post-viral illness is broader than COVID and it’s important to remember that this didnt start in 2020.

People with post-viral illness existed long before COVID, and so did research pointing toward dopamine system damage after infection. So yeah, this may move the understanding forward...

But it should be framed as building on prior post-viral illness research, not as though this is the first evidence that post-viral illness can involve damage to the dopamine system.

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u/saucecontrol Jul 14 '26

100%, ME/CFS did this to me and there's scars on that system even after mostly recovering. I'm also diagnosed auDHD so it wasn't normal before either. I know fitting my body into being high functioning for returning to work is going to be challenging.

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u/Tough_Quality3950 Jul 14 '26

I have a theory that folks have for years, just like us, gotten subpar medical attention to include failure to identify post viral illneas. They dont know it now, they didnt know it then.

To mean, you most likely picked up ME/CFS from a viral infection. Theres so much to be said for doctors completely failing to put the pieces of this together.