Tag: phospholipids

The Potential Role of Hypothalamic Phospholipid Liposomes in the Supportive Therapy of Some Manifestations of Post-COVID-19 Condition: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Brain Fog

Abstract:

Post-COVID-19 condition (commonly known as Long COVID) is a heterogeneous clinical condition in which Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and brain fog stand out among the different clinical symptoms and syndromes. Cerebral metabolic alterations and neuroendocrine disorders seem to constitute an important part of the pathophysiology of Post-COVID-19 condition (PCC).

Given the substantial lack of specific drugs and effective therapeutic strategies, hypothalamic phospholipid liposomes, which have been on the market for several years as adjuvant therapy for cerebral metabolic alterations resulting from neuroendocrine disorders, might represent a potential option in an overall therapeutic strategy that aims to control PCC-associated symptoms and syndromes. Their pharmacological mechanisms and clinical effects strongly support their potential effectiveness in PCC. Our initial clinical experience seems to corroborate this rationale. Further controlled clinical research is warranted in order to verify this hypothesis.

Source: Menichetti F. The Potential Role of Hypothalamic Phospholipid Liposomes in the Supportive Therapy of Some Manifestations of Post-COVID-19 Condition: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Brain Fog. J Clin Med. 2023 Aug 23;12(17):5478. doi: 10.3390/jcm12175478. PMID: 37685544; PMCID: PMC10488182. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10488182/ (Full text)

Chronic inflammation, neuroglia dysfunction, and plasmalogen deficiency as a new pathobiological hypothesis addressing the overlap between post-COVID-19 symptoms and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome

Highlights:

  • Plasmalogens (Pls) are lipids containing a vinyl-ether bond in their glycerol backbone
  • Pls have antioxidant properties and are important for curved membrane assemblies
  • Post-COVID-19 symptoms are highly prevalent and share several features with ME/CFS
  • Pls depletion is a shared biological hallmark of ME/CFS and acute COVID-19 syndrome
  • Pls replacement is a promising tool against neuroinflammation in these two conditions

Abstract:

After five waves of COVID-19 outbreaks, it has been recognized that a significant portion of the affected individuals developed long-term debilitating symptoms marked by chronic fatigue, cognitive difficulties (“brain fog”), post-exertional malaise, and autonomic dysfunction. The onset, progression, and clinical presentation of this condition, generically named post-COVID-19 syndrome, overlap significantly with another enigmatic condition, referred to as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

Several pathobiological mechanisms have been proposed for ME/CFS, including redox imbalance, systemic and central nervous system inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Chronic inflammation and glial pathological reactivity are common hallmarks of several neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders and have been consistently associated with reduced central and peripheral levels of plasmalogens, one of the major phospholipid components of cell membranes with several homeostatic functions.

Of great interest, recent evidence revealed a significant reduction of plasmalogens contents, biosynthesis, and metabolism in ME/CFS and acute COVID-19, with a strong association to symptom severity and other relevant clinical outcomes. These bioactive lipids have increasingly attracted attention due to their reduced levels representing a common pathophysiological manifestation between several disorders associated with aging and chronic inflammation. However, alterations in plasmalogen levels or their lipidic metabolism have not yet been examined in individuals suffering from post-COVID-19 symptoms.

Here, we proposed a pathobiological model for post-COVID-19 and ME/CFS based on their common inflammation and dysfunctional glial reactivity, and highlighted the emerging implications of plasmalogen deficiency in the underlying mechanisms. Along with the promising outcomes of plasmalogen replacement therapy (PRT) for various neurodegenerative/neuropsychiatric disorders, we sought to propose PRT as a simple, effective, and safe strategy for the potential relief of the debilitating symptoms associated with ME/CFS and post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Source: Chaves AM, Braniff O, Angelova A, Deng Y, Tremblay MÈ. Chronic inflammation, neuroglia dysfunction, and plasmalogen deficiency as a new pathobiological hypothesis addressing the overlap between post-COVID-19 symptoms and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Brain Res Bull. 2023 Jul 7:110702. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2023.110702. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37423295. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361923023001272?via%3Dihub (Full text)

The Role of Hypothalamic Phospholipid Liposomes in the Supportive Therapy of Some Manifestations of Long Covid: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Brain Fog

Abstract:

Long Covid is a heterogeneous clinical condition in which Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and brain fog stand out among the different clinical symptoms and syndromes. The cerebral metabolic alterations and neuroendocrine disorders seem to constitute an important part of Long Covid.

Given the substantial lack of drugs and effective therapeutic strategies, hypothalamic phospholipid liposomes which have been on the market for several years as adjuvant therapy of cerebral metabolic alterations resulting from neuroendocrine disorders, can be taken into consideration in an overall therapeutic strategy that aims to control the Long Covid associated symptoms and syndromes. Their pharmacological mechanisms and clinical effects strongly support their usefulness in Long Covid. Our initial clinical experience corroborates this rationale. Further research is imperative in order to obtain robust clinical evidence.

Source: Menichetti, F. The Role of Hypothalamic Phospholipid Liposomes in the Supportive Therapy of Some Manifestations of Long Covid: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Brain Fog. Preprints.org 2023, 2023070005. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202307.0005.v1 https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202307.0005/v1 (Full text available as PDF file)