As of July 2024 there are over 400,000 papers published relating to covid research. The links below are to either really clear and comprehensive explanations of what we know or address a particularly important area. This is clearly nothing remotely like a complete reference list, but if you are not familiar with the body of research on covid, this list will get you caught up to a good level.
January 2025 – What is Long Covid? – very clear explainer, comprehensive but easy to read, links to really good and clear science throughout
August 2024 – Long Covid Science, research and policy, detailed but accessible paper explaining everything currently known about Long Covid authored by seven of the world’s leaders in Long Covid research coming together to collaborate
August 2024 – Probably now the only link you need, an absolute tour de force of available studies and knowledge from a body set up to further public awareness of the research
June 2024 – Review of organ damage from COVID and Long COVID: a disease with a spectrum of pathology – incredibly clear and comprehensive review of the long term impacts of covid infection co-authored by some of the world’s pre-eminent covid scientists
Feb 2024 – Solving the puzzle of Long Covid – detailed explainer of what is happening in the bodies of people with Long Covid by two of the most respected scientists in the field
Nov 2023 – Clinical briefing podcast by Dr Hannah Preston and Dr Binita Kane. Dr Kane is one of the Uks leading experts on Long Covid and this podcast is aimed at getting doctors to have at least an accurate basic understanding of Long Covid
July 2023 – The immunology of long COVID – Comprehensive review of current knowledge published in Nature by Danny Altman and others. Very good detail on all the main theories about the underlying mechanisms.
Mar 2023 – Long COVID: Incidence, Impacts, And Implications, this is a summary article by David Putrino, who runs a lab and clinic at the absolute forefront of Long Covid research and treatment
Live resource – An incredibly comprehensive explanation of everything known about covid’s impact on the bodies various systems. The link takes you to the section on the immune system but note the menu on the left
Oct 2024 – Science Alert article – We Just Got More Evidence That Long COVID Is a Brain Injury – report on a study looking at cases early in the pandemic but still useful as it corroborates the huge number of similar findings being reported almost daily now
Oct 2024 – Lancet paper, “Changes in memory and cognition during the SARS-CoV-2 human challenge study”. Controversial as study deliberately infected 34 healthy young (18-34) subjects with SARS-COV-2. All participants reported no cognitive issues when tested at 12 months, while all performed statistically worse at cognitive tests. Shows gradual degenerative nature of brain injury post covid infection and that “I had covid but I am fine” is a fallacy.
Sep 2024 – Cognitive and psychiatric symptom trajectories 2–3 years after hospital admission for COVID-19: a longitudinal, prospective cohort study in the UK. Large scale 3 year follow up, “Psychiatric and cognitive symptoms appear to increase over the first 2–3 years post-hospitalisation due to both worsening of symptoms already present at 6 months and emergence of new symptoms” ie over the time available so far neuro-covid is degenerative.
Sep 2024 – Nature paper showing cognitive effects 1 year after infection, “the cognitive deficits were equivalent to a 20-year acceleration (e.g. performance of a 50-year old at the 70-year old level)”. Summary, full paper behind paywall.
Sep 2024 Journalism piece – Brain Deficits After Severe COVID-19 Can Equate To 20 Years Of Normal Aging, discussing just published paper on UK study
Aug 2024 – Nature paper “Fibrin drives thromboinflammation and neuropathology in COVID-19”. “Life-threatening thrombotic events and neurological symptoms are prevalent in COVID-19 ….. but the exact mechanisms are not known” study demonstrates how clotting and inflammation can be linked to SARS-COV-2 binding directly to fibrin.
June 2024 – New study links COVID-19 to lasting neuropsychiatric issues, showing COVID-19 survivors were at significantly heightened risk of developing cognitive deficits, insomnia, encephalitis, and at least four other neuropsychiatric sequelae
June 2024 – EEG signatures of cognitive decline after mild SARS-CoV-2 infection: an age-dependent study. “Although children and adolescents experienced milder effects, cognitive decline and heightened low-frequency electrical activity were evident”. “Milder”!!!!
Apr 2024 – Brain and cognitive changes in patients with long COVID compared with infection-recovered control subjects. Study from Addenbrooks in the UK, “This study shows that patients with neurological long COVID suffer brain changes, especially in several white matter areas, and these are associated with impairments of specific cognitive functions”
Feb 2024 – Cognition and Memory after Covid-19. Detailed study found reduction in memory and cognitive performace equivalent to about 3 IQ points in people recovered from Covid infection after short illness and 9 IQ points in those with persistent Long Covid symptoms
Feb 2024 – Temporal Association between COVID-19 Infection and Subsequent New-Onset Dementia in Older Adults. Study found significantly increased chance of New Onset Dementia post covid infection, this was not detectable 3 or 6 months post infection and only started to become significant at 12 months
Feb 2024 – Prospective Memory Assessment before and after Covid-19. Covid has a detrimental effect on memory, it is worse with women, higher BMI seems to make worse, suggests younger people relatively affected more than older people
Feb 2024 – Neuroimaging findings in children with COVID-19 infection. Study shows clearly that Covid infection is capable of leading to serious brain injury in children.
Feb 2024 – The long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of toddlers with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the neonatal period. Study only on hospitalised babies but clearly shows new borns and infants are at risk of neurological harm from a covid infection
Feb 2024 – Study published in Nature showing blood–brain barrier disruption and sustained systemic inflammation in individuals with long COVID-associated cognitive impairment
March 2022 – SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure in UK Biobank. Obviously now many more recent studies but this study, published in Nature, compared brain imaging taken before covid and then followed up those patients post covid infection, so very objective findings.
Oct 2024 – Vascular Pathogenesis in Acute and Long COVID: Current Insights and Therapeutic Outlook. Very detailed update on everything known about how Covid causes endothelial damage leading to clotting leading to Long Covid
June 2024 – High prevalence of cardiac post-acute sequelae in patients recovered from Covid-19.
June 2024 – Autonomic cardiac function in children and adolescents with long COVID: a case-controlled study. Findings suggest that pediatric patients with long COVID have an imbalance of cardiac autonomic function toward a relative predominance of parasympathetic tone,
March 2023 – British Heart Foundation Publication – How does Covid-19 affect your heart?
March 2023 – Long-Term Adverse Effects of Mild COVID-19 Disease on Arterial Stiffness, and Systemic and Central Hemodynamics: A Pre-Post Study. A small group who had imaging pre covid were followed up and ALL found to have arterial stiffening post a mild covid infection.
Oct 2022 – Video from Indie Sage meeting of an exceptional presentation by Leading UK cardiologist Dr Rae Duncan on the cardiovascular impact of covid infection
Immune System
Note immune damage and disruption is at the heart of how covid causes long term harm and is therefore covered in detail in the overview links at the top of this page
June 2024 – A T-Cell-Derived 3-Gene Signature Distinguishes SARS-CoV-2 from Common Respiratory Viruses – study found the same odd immune response patterns found by other studies: The immune system is STRONGLY activated (especially the inflammatory response), but the pathway responsible for signaling targeted attacks on infected cells is suppressed (ie infection revs up the immune system but infected cells are hidden from it, so an engine not in gear with the accelerator pressed hard down – for a very long time)
June 2024 – SARS-CoV-2-associated lymphopenia. Paper explaining how the immune system is compromised and weakened post a SARS-COV-2 infection. Multiple other studies have shown T-cell depletion, this paper sets out the mechanisms that could be leading to this.
Dec 2023 – technical explanation of the similarities and differences in how SARS-COV-2 and HIV attack the immune system
Nov 2023 – T cell cross-reactivity in autoimmune-like hepatitis triggered by COVID-19
Aug 2023 – Long COVID manifests with T cell dysregulation, inflammation, and an uncoordinated adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2
Jly 2023 – Clearly identifed heightended T-Cell activation in post covid subjects and viral traces in gut and brain stem tissue
Children
Oct 2024 – Hypertrophic tonsils as the SARS-CoV-2 reservoir in children: 23% of tonsil and adenoid tissue samples of children were positive for the SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein. In English – the covid virus is persisting and replicating in the tonsils of children who had been infected with Covid.
Oct 2024 – Incidence and Risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Hospitalization Among Unvaccinated Children. Whilst the absolute numbers are small, study clearly shows increasing risk with each new variant.
Oct 2024 – Scientific American article – Long COVID Is Harming Too Many Kids
Aug 2024 – Characterizing Long COVID in Children and Adolescents. Study demonstrating that incidence of Long Covid effects is far more widespread that had been thought.
Link to new onset diabetes
Oct 2024 – SARS-CoV-2 Infection and New-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Among Pediatric Patients, 2020 to 2022. Quote from summary – “pediatric patients aged 10 to 19 years with a COVID-19 diagnosis were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with T2D during the subsequent 6 months“
Oct 2024 – Study reveals how SARS-CoV-2 triggers diabetes by destroying pancreatic cells
Sept 2023 – New Scientist article explaining the mechanism by which Covid can cause Type 1 diabetes in infants (which there is a global rise in since the start of the pandemic)
Aug 2023 – Easy to read review of studies to date looking at increased risk of diabetes after SARS-COV-2 infection, incl links to previous research papers
Other useful resources
Immunology 101 for beginners – really great explainer that helps understand the often very technical research papers
Nov 2024 – Long COVID facts and findings – large scale survey confirming what we already know – Reinfection is associated with milder symptoms but a higher incidence and severity of Long Covid
July 2024 – Work ability and return-to-work of patients with post-COVID-19. Large scale meta analysis showing that for people experiencing any form of Long Covid / Post Covid illness, over 40% are unable to return to full time work as before their covid infection. Charts in all countries are showing numbers of workers on long term sick leave is sky-rocketing, politicians are trying to say this is people becoming lazy after lockdowns. This was always obviously ridiculous but this study demonstrates the reason people are off work is in fact because they are long term sick.