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Scientists have presented symptoms that can be sensitive to touch, pressure and temperature as a new progression of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19 ‧Corona 19). ‘Gene remnants’ of the Corona virus 19 remaining in neurons are said to interfere with the expression of genes associated with the senses.
A research team led by Professor Zaccariou from Venice Icahn University of Mount Sinai, USA, published a study in the international journal ‘Science Signaling’ on the 9th (local time) which confirmed the fact and the cause of the after effects of sensitization of the senses. even after being cured of Corona 19.
According to the research team, Corona 19 causes side effects that feel pain, such as headache, internal pain, Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuralgia, and inflammation. In most cases, these symptoms subside after full recovery, but symptoms may persist for a long time.
The research team noted that some patients who had been cured of COVID-19 showed symptoms of feeling more sensitive to touch, pressure and temperature than usual. The research team explained that “Corona 19 causes persistent pain in a quite unique way.”
To determine how the COVID-19 virus sensitizes the senses and makes them feel pain easily, the research team conducted animal experiments. We observed gene expression patterns related to neurons and sensory functions in hamsters infected with COVID-19. At regular intervals, changes in the body of one hamster were continuously checked.
In experimental hamsters, RNA (ribonucleic acid) of the Corona 19 virus was found in the ‘Dorsal Root Ganglion’ of the brain even after Corona 19 had been cured. The dorsal root ganglion is a region where cell bodies that transmit information gathered from sensory organs to the spinal cord are collected. It is located in the swelling area at the end of the vertebrae.
The hamsters in which RNA from the virus was detected in the dorsal root ganglion felt mild but sensitive pain in the long term. Pigs infected with the influenza A virus, not the Corona virus 19, had no remnants of the virus left. The research team confirmed that hamsters with residual RNA from the Corona virus 19 interfered with the expression of genes related to sensory function. He explained that this action is similar to the changes that occur in the body when inflammation occurs.
Professor Zachariou, who led the study, said, “In this study, we have identified a key mechanism that causes the after-effects of pain sensitivity due to COVID-19.”
