TLC Sessions - Living with Long Covid LC Supplement to Episode 68 - Anxiety and Depression
Jan 5, 2024
Steven Allder, consultant neurologist specializing in brain injury and cognitive disorders, explains how brain inflammation can drive anxiety and depression. He discusses rapid onset of mood changes after injury and links between limbic system inflammation and long COVID. He also covers why prior vulnerability affects outcomes and why some people have persistent inflammation.
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Hosts Report New-Onset Mood Symptoms
- Noreen and Emily describe having no prior anxiety or depression before Long Covid.
- Both then developed mood symptoms after acquiring Long Covid, illustrating new-onset mental health changes.
Brain Damage Can Produce Mood Disorders
- Damaging emotional-regulatory brain areas can directly cause depression and anxiety after injury or infection.
- Long Covid appears to affect the limbic system, explaining new-onset mood disorders in previously well people.
PET Scans Point To Limbic Involvement
- PET scans of Long Covid patients show abnormalities centered in the limbic system.
- These localized changes align with emotional-regulatory pathway disruption and biological mood symptoms.