Health · Medical Research · 23 hrs ago
Study links long Covid symptoms to changes in the brain’s dopamine system
Researchers found changes in the brain’s dopamine system in people with long Covid and symptoms such as fatigue, low motivation and mental fog.
The study examined 24 adults with long Covid and compared their brain scans with those of 24 healthy people of similar ages.
Scans showed 16% to 20% lower levels of a protein linked to dopamine in a brain region called the striatum.
People who had fully recovered from Covid had normal levels, suggesting the change is not an inevitable effect of infection.
The researchers proposed that lasting brain inflammation or the virus’s ability to enter dopamine-producing cells could contribute to the changes.
The findings suggest a possible biological target for understanding long Covid, but they do not establish a treatment.
The researchers say medicines should be tested in clinical trials and that a simpler imaging method could make diagnosis more practical in hospitals.
A study linked long Covid symptoms with a 16% to 20% reduction in VMAT2 levels in the brain’s striatum.
The symptoms studied included apathy, fatigue and brain fog after mild or moderate Covid-19.
Researchers compared 24 people with long Covid with 24 healthy people of a similar age.
People who had fully recovered from Covid-19 had normal dopamine levels, the article reported.
The researchers said the findings could help guide clinical trials of medicines and make imaging-based diagnosis more accessible.
- Who
- Researchers studied 24 adults with long Covid and compared them with 24 healthy people of a similar age.
- What
- The study linked long Covid symptoms to reduced VMAT2 levels in the brain’s striatum.
- When
- The study was published on 2026-10-11.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- Researchers aimed to understand whether Covid-19 had affected dopamine-producing neurons.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
No direct quotes in the coverage so far.
Some people developed apathy, fatigue and brain fog that persisted for months or years.
CNN Brasil reported on the study published in eBioMedicine.
- Long Covid group
- 24 adults
- Comparison group
- 24 healthy people of a similar age
- VMAT2 reduction
- 16% to 20% in the striatum
- Study journal
- eBioMedicine
- Study publication
- 2026-10-11
Sources
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