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What do we know about covid-19's effects on the brain?

Re: What do we know about covid-19's effects on the gut?

What do we know about covid-19's effects on the gut?

Not just a respiratory infection, covid can cause symptoms throughout the body. Gastrointestinal symptoms are common in both acute and long covid, with gut issues often persisting long after initial infection. Katharine Lang investigates Lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain. These may not be the symptoms people expect with covid, but around 50% of people experience them after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and in some people they’re the only symptoms.1 Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms may be the first sign of infection or may develop later and persist as part of long covid. Sheena Cruickshank, immunologist at the University of Manchester, tells The BMJ why doctors didn’t initially recognise GI symptoms as part of covid-19. “The frequency of gastric symptoms anorexia, pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, rectal bleeding has varied considerably from 12-61% in publications,” she says, explaining that this variance may be due to GI symptoms not being reported as linked to

Autism and ADHD place "unprecedented" demand on NHS

The rise in the number of people in England waiting for diagnosis and treatment of autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) demands a rethink of the organisation of services, which should include agencies outside the health and care sector, an analysis by the Nuffield Trust has concluded.1 The number of people with suspected autism waiting to see a specialist in England reached 172 022 in December 2023, the highest ever recorded and a more than fivefold rise since 2019, it found. The average wait between referral and first appointment was nine months, with some areas having waiting times of more than two and a half years, showed the figures, which are based on NHS Digital experimental statistics.2 This compared with a four month wait in 2019. In 2023 only a fifth of people were seen by specialist services within the NICE …

Is convalescent plasma still useful as a covid treatment?

Enthusiasm for one of the earliest promising treatments for covid-19 has waned. Katharine Lang finds that convalescent plasma for covid may still have a place, particularly in immunocompromised people ### What is convalescent plasma? It’s a form of passive immunisation. Blood plasma containing antibodies from one person is given to someone else with the same infection. It’s been used since the late 19th century to treat diphtheria, scarlet fever, and pertussis and, more recently, haemorrhagic fevers such as that caused by the Ebola virus.1 Someone who has recovered from or been vaccinated against covid can donate covid convalescent plasma (CCP). This will contain antibodies to the strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus they were infected with, as well as antibodies created in response to any vaccine. Plasma can also be drawn from existing blood donations. ### Is it an effective treatment for covid-19? Yes but only if given very early, before severe symptoms appear. The World Health Organ