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Hi Deirdre,
I haven't finished reading it yet, but I can kind of see where this article is going. So far what I see is that melatonin would be a very good countering agent for the issues they are describing about how the muscles are affected by long covid.
Two main things they are discussing as a result of SARS CoV-2 are decreased mitochondrial function and decreased Oxidative Phosphorylation Capacity (OXPHOS) in the muscles leading to reduced muscle function capacity and muscle fatigue which are exacerbated by exercise. In the following study it is shown that melatonin can counter both issues :
Here is a relevant quote :
We recently showed that melatonin counteracted mitochondrial oxidative stress and increased the activity of the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) enzymes both in vivo and in vitro.
Melatonin has also shown the ability to restore mitochondrial respiration enzymes, one of the issues that they brought up in this study.
I'm not sure why they are completely ignoring the fact that SARS CoV-2 increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) very significantly in Covid-19 patients and then exercise further increases those ROS levels to levels capable of damaging muscle tissue and potentially causing fibrosis, essentially what they are describing in a roundabout way. Everything they are saying so far points toward the elevated ROS and RNS levels and impaired mitochondrial function associated with Covid-19 that are exacerbated by physical or even mental exercise. In long covid patients, these two seem to remain elevated as discussed in other studies.
Melatonin acts to return mitochondrial function to homeostasis and at a bare minimum significantly improves mitochondrial function and is a very potent scavenger of ROS and RNS through both direct antioxidant and radical scavenging by melatonin and its metabolites and indirect actions via upregulating many of the bodies own potent antioxidants and radical scavengers. The following May 2023 study clearly shows that both ROS and RNS are elevated in Covid-19 patients :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10219364/
Here is a very relevant study quote :
The results indicated that the serum levels of individual ROS and RNS were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients than in healthy subjects. The correlations between the serum levels of ROS and RNS and the biochemical markers ranged from moderate to very strongly positive. Moreover, significantly elevated serum levels of ROS and RNS were observed in intensive care unit (ICU) patients compared with non-ICU patients. Thus, ROS and RNS concentrations in serum can be used as biomarkers to track the prognosis of COVID-19. This investigation demonstrated that oxidative and nitrative stress play a role in the etiology of COVID-19 and contribute to disease severity; thus, ROS and RNS are probable innovative targets in COVID-19 therapeutics.
So here we are back to more evidence in total suggesting that ROS and RNS result in increased oxidative stress and increased levels of inflammation both of which are damaging to the body in multiple ways and to multiple body organs including muscle . While the exact methods of action that SARS CoV-2 uses to cause this elevated status of ROS and RNS have not been fully elucidated yet, other studies have suggested that using these two as potential targets in Covid-19 and long covid (LC) can be beneficial for patients with C-19 or LC.
Imo, it will be a very long time before science discovers the exact methods of action involved in LC and because of that it makes more sense for those currently suffering with LC to pursue potent antioxidants and radical scavengers in the case of LC. Melatonin meets this criteria as well as other potent antioxidants such as alpha lipoic acid (ALA) and are worthy of consideration. In the specific case of muscle tissue stress, topical melatonin may have a part to play as well.
Art
Research Article of Interest
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Hello Art, et al.
Came across this article today in the news and thought it might interest some of you.
Muscle abnormalities worsen after post-exertional malaise in long COVID
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-44432-3
Deirdre
