Millennia Lytle, ND, MPH, Head of Coaching at Mymee
Thu, August 19, 2021, 1:02 PM
“While PANDAS is the result of a bacteria, and Long COVID, a virus, these pathogens share the capacity to cross the blood brain barrier, and attack the brain, affecting everything from mood, nerves and brain function. An article published in the British Medical Journal in 2005, points out a number of identifiable mechanisms of the mind-body connection. Most relevant being that infectious physical disease, affecting the brain, can give rise, directly, to psychological manifestations.”
Molecular mimicry is also seen in PANDAS:
“One emerging theory to explain long COVID is “molecular mimicry,” where infectious agents disguised to “mimic” normal cells produce an autoimmune response. When the immune system eventually finds and fights them, it sometimes also fights the normal cells that the infection is imitating. Depending on which cells are being “mimicked,” the result can be a variety of symptoms, including the gastrointestinal, psychological and respiratory issues we’re seeing with long COVID. It could also potentiate the development of autoimmune antibodies in many types of cells, including gut microflora.8
Gabriella True
