Most COVID-19 infection sufferers recover within 10 days after becoming ill. People who have mild symptoms that persist after they have recovered are said to have post-COVID syndrome or long-term COVID, and they may experience post-COVID disorders as well as long-term issues that affect the organs. More than 28 days or 4 weeks after the initial coronavirus infection, individuals may have a wide range of new, persistent, or reoccurring health issues known as post-COVID complications. Post-COVID problems can affect even asymptomatic individuals who did not exhibit symptoms at the time of infection. These difficulties may result in various kinds and combinations of health issues for various amounts of time.

Causes of Long-COVID

Researchers are still unable to define the causes associated to the long-term impacts of coronavirus. According to a recent article, potential long-term causes detected in recovered from COVID-19 patients may include the following:

  • diminished or nonexistent immunological response
  • Multisystem inflammatory syndrome
  • extended hospitalisation because of the severity
  • post-traumatic stress
  • Viral re-infection

Survivors of an acute COVID-19 infection may be more susceptible to infections with bacteria, fungi, or other problems, according to new findings on SARS-CoV-2 survivors, 30–40% of whom had secondary infections. The chronic and protracted effects of a prior infection in post-acute COVID-19, however, are not explained by these subsequent infections.

Multiple Organ Damage in COVID-19

COVID-19 infection causes immune system alterations that last a lifetime and mostly impacts the lungs. Multiple organs, including the lungs, brain, blood vessels, skin, nerves, kidney, and heart, may be impacted as a result of a long-term COVID-19 infection. This might be viewed as a secondary effect of the disease on metabolic, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and neurological systems. Organ damage could make long-term health problems more prevalent. According to recent data, COVID-19 primarily affects following bodily areas and organs:

  • Lungs: Pneumonia brought on by COVID-19 can permanently harm the alveoli, or small branches of air tubes in the lungs, which are where blood and the lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide when breathing in and out. Breathing issues over time may result from scar tissue in the lungs.
  • Brain: There are numerous accounts of young people with COVID-19 also exhibiting neurological symptoms, such as muscle weakness, tingling or numbness in the hands and feet, which may progress to paralysis (Guillain-Barré syndrome), dizziness, sudden blackouts, confusion, dementia, seizures, and stroke. The development of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease may also be made more likely by COVID-19.
  • Heart: Even in individuals who only had minor COVID-19 symptoms, patients after recovery have showed irreversible tissue loss of the heart muscle. Future Myocardial Infarction (MI)-related heart failure or other potentially fatal consequences may become more probable as a result of this.
  • Kidney: Acute renal damage, often known as sudden loss of kidney function, can occur in COVID-19 patients. In severe cases, dialysis may be required, however kidney damage of this kind is occasionally reversible. CKD patients are more likely to experience severe symptoms after COVID-19 recovery.

Stem Cell Therapy for Post-COVID

Despite improvements in supportive care methods, there are currently no clinically viable treatments for this illness, hence it is crucial to develop fresh tactics to combat it. As a new treatment and research approach for COVID-19, stem cell therapy and stem cell-derived exosome therapy are currently receiving a lot of interest.

Cell therapy is a powerful technique that has been used in the treatment of many diseases, including those of the lung, heart, liver, and kidney. Stem cell therapy is an excellent option for treating damaged lungs since it is accessible to both individuals with severe COVID-19 problems and those who have recovered from those issues. It is considered that mesenchymal stem cells control the excessive inflammatory responses linked to Long COVID.

Mesenchymal stem cells have been demonstrated in certain studies to be effective in treating COVID-19 patients by lowering inflammatory cytokine levels, increasing anti-inflammatory interleukins such IL-10, and eliminating hyperactive T-cells and NK (natural killer) cells. It is acknowledged that this immune system regulation reduces neurological and fatigue-related symptoms.

MSC- Exosome Therapy

The chronic problems have been successfully treated with exosome treatment. Exosome therapy has been proven in recent studies to significantly enhance patient outcomes by restoring cells’ ability to store oxygen, enhancing cognition, and reducing muscle and/or joint discomfort.

Exosome therapy includes injecting billions of exosomes intravenously to treat COVID-19 symptoms over an extended period of time. These exosomes operate as a catalyst for cellular repair throughout the body by locating damaged cells and starting to repair them. Exosomes also have the most thorough access for cellular restoration because they are much smaller than conventional stem cells and can cross the blood-brain barrier.

The therapeutic results of stem cells derived from various tissue origins can be very varied. Additionally, crucial quality control variables that have an impact on clinical trials include the in vitro culture settings for stem cells and organoids. Stem cell therapy offers many clinical application prospects and a significant impact owing to the ongoing investigation of stem cell clinical research and the continuous data mining. Additionally, we are hopeful that the ongoing development of stem cell therapy may help more COVID-19 patients with advanced disease and ultimately save more lives.