Long COVID: an estrogen-associated autoimmune disease?
Elena Ortona, Danilo Buonsenso, Angelo Carfì, Walter Malorni, The Long Covid Kids study group, Daniel Munblit, Cristina De Rose, Dario Sinatti, Antonia Ricchiuto, Piero Valentini
Abstract
Some people who have had severe to a moderate or mild form of COVID-19 disease may suffer from variable and debilitating symptoms for many months after the initial infection 1 . This condition is commonly called “Long COVID”. An exact definition is missing, but symptoms with a duration of more than 2 months are typically considered as Long COVID. The condition is characterized by long-term sequelae and can involve a range of symptoms such as persistent fatigue, headache, shortness of breath, anosmia, muscle weakness, fever, cognitive dysfunction (brain fog), tachycardia, intestinal disorders, and skin manifestations. Long COVID syndrome bears a similarity to the post-infectious syndromes that followed the outbreaks of chikungunya 2 and Ebola 3 .