Long COVID is characterised by persistent or newly emerging symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection that cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis. Common manifestations include fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, sleep disturbance, autonomic dysfunction, and a range of neurological symptoms. Long COVID remains a significant global public health challenge.
This seminar will begin with an overview of a Delphi-style survey involving 160 international experts that explored current perspectives on the clinical evaluation, research priorities, and future directions of Long COVID. It will then examine sleep disturbances, including insomnia, REM sleep abnormalities, and the potential contribution of glymphatic dysfunction, to persistent neurological symptoms. Finally, the seminar will present recent findings on homotypic fusion of neurotransmitter vesicles and introduce the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 infection may promote dopamine-associated senescence, providing a potential mechanistic link between altered vesicle biology and the neurological manifestations of Long COVID.
| Andrew Ewing Andrew Ewing is a Professor of Chemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He is a Knut and Alice Wallenberg Scholar (2011-2029), an elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (2012), the Gothenburg Academy of Arts and Sciences (2013), member of Swedish Science Forum (Vetenskapsforum Covid-19), member of the John Snow Project editorial team, and chair of the Independent Long COVID Working Group. Ewing has pioneered small-volume chemical measurements to quantify the contents of individual neurotransmitter vesicles and their interaction with proteins. Read more... |
| David Joffe David Joffe is a Sleep Respiratory Physician who holds a VMO appointment at RNSH Sydney. He is the Vice Chair of the World Health Network Long Covid Experts Group with whom he has co-authored overarching papers on the multi-system involvement of Covid. He has extensive clinical experience in the evaluation and treatment of Long Covid and collaborates widely with his extensive international group of Long Covid Experts. |
Opinions expressed in the Kirby Institute Seminar Series are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Kirby Institute or UNSW.
