Notices by Eric Topol (erictopol@mstdn.social), page 2

The dose-response relationship between education and improved survival, quantified for the first time. For each additional year of schooling, an associated reduction of mortality risk of 1.9%, higher with younger ages https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(23)00306-7/fulltext

Diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease with only a blood test (p-tau217) and no symptoms has big (and negative) implications

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/04/health/alzheimers-amyloid-diagnosis.html?searchResultPosition=1

2 important large prospective cohort studies of cognitive deficits with Long Covid were just published. I reviewed them in a new Ground Truths post

https://erictopol.substack.com/p/long-covid-and-cognitive-deficits

Ultra-processed foods are ultra bad for your health. Consistent evidence of adverse impact for > 30 health outcomes from a comprehensive umbrella review

https://bmj.com/content/384/bmj-2023-077310

If you want to understand how Long Covid affects the brain, or the neuroscience of cancer, there's nobody better than Prof/Dr Michelle Monje to learn from.

https://erictopol.substack.com/p/michelle-monje-the-brain-in-long

This week in LongCovid:
✓ Leaky blood-brain barrier
✓ Interferon-γ as a potential biomarker
✓ Persistent infections and >50%⬆️risk
✓ Vaccination protection in adults and kids >40%
✓ Our perspective published in Science
All in the new Ground Truths
https://erictopol.substack.com/p/towards-solving-the-long-covid-puzzle

Disruption of the blood brain barrier (-> leaky) in #LongCovid in individuals with brain fog
https://nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01576-9
Assessment with MRI, brain-specific S100β protein, RNA-seq indicates dysregulation of clotting system and pro-inflammatory endothelial cells

Niacin, the B vitamin that was previously used to improve lipid profiles and reduce the risk of heart disease, promotes arterial inflammation and cardiovascular risk through its metabolites

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02793-8

An effective treatment for depression from a systematic review of >200 unique RCTs: Exercise.

Benefit proportional to intensity of exercise prescribed

https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj-2023-075847

The CDC's new policy to spread Covid

https://washingtonpost.com/health/2024/02/13/covid-isolation-guidelines-cdc-change/?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere&location=alert

Long Covid in kids: a state of the science review

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2023-062570/196606/Postacute-Sequelae-of-SARS-CoV-2-in-Children?autologincheck=redirected

The risk of new-onset dementia after Covid in older adults (age 60+) from a systematic review of 11 studies vs controls is ~60% increased; after severe Covid, a 17-fold increased risk; shows up at 6 months
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4716751 (preprint)

Important discovery related to LongCovid: Fragments of SARS-CoV-2 virus can reassemble into "zombie" complexes (XenoAMP-dsDNA) and induce a major and sustained immune response, affecting healthy, uninfected cells, not seen with common cold coronaviruses

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2300644120

The XBB.1.5 "updated" Covid vaccine booster provided ~54% increased protection *against symptomatic infections* (including vs. JN.1 variant) compared with not getting it.

https://cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7304a2.htm?s_cid=mm7304a2_e&ACSTrackingID=USCDC_921-DM121333&ACSTrackingLabel=This%20Week%20in%20MMWR%3A%20Vol.%2073%2C%20February%201%2C%202024&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM121333

So much new on Long Covid. I've tried to pull it all together in a new Ground Truths

https://erictopol.substack.com/p/lighting-up-long-covid

Protection against #LongCovid in kids with vaccination from a cohort of over 1 million https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2023-064446/196419/Vaccine-Effectiveness-Against-Long-COVID-in?searchresult=1

Among 67 million people in the UK, consequences of not getting a Covid vaccine, especially among older adults, age 75+:
Missing 1 shot had a similar risk of severe Covid as missing all 4 shots (2.7 vs 3.1-fold, respectively), emphasizing waned immunity
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02467-4/fulltext

"The single most dangerous statement by a government health agency official since the start of the pandemic, if not for all time."

https://latimes.com/business/story/2024-01-09/meet-the-most-dangerous-quack-in-america

Brain injury, loss of grey matter, and cognitive dysfunction at 1-year in people initially hospitalized compared with controls #LongCovid
https://researchsquare.com/article/rs-3818580/v1 preprint
"cognitive deficits...equivalent in magnitude to 20 years of aging"
Image

Engineered secretory IgA antibodies vs Omicron (BA.1, BA.2, BA.5) were 25 to 75-fold more potent than shots (->IgG) for neutralization. A single nasal spray dose prevented infections in the mouse model
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2315354120