Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2025

Determining Immune System Suppression versus CNS Protection for Pharmacological Interventions in Autoimmune Demyelination
Published on: September 12, 2016
Autoimmunity and long COVID in children
Oksana Boyarchuk1, Liubov Volianska1
1Department of Children's Diseases and Pediatric Surgery, I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University, Ukraine.
Abstract:
Numerous hypotheses regarding the pathogenetic mechanisms of long COVID have been proposed. Immune dysregulation and autoimmunity are among the leading hypotheses. In this article, we present two clinical cases of long COVID. The first case demonstrates the phenotype of long COVID with pain and musculoskeletal symptoms, which is often associated with autoimmunity and mimics systemic connective tissue diseases. In the second case, a high titer of antinuclear antibodies was observed after SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the clinical symptoms were limited to fever and headache. Only a comprehensive evaluation of clinical symptoms and thorough objective examination can confirm or exclude autoimmune diseases after a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. A systematic search in the PubMed Medline database was carried out for studies focusing on immune dysregulation, autoimmunity, and its association with the clinical phenotype of long COVID. The question of the role of autoimmunity in the development of long COVID and the management approaches are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Autoimmune Disorders
Concept and Mechanism of Autoimmune Diseases
The immune...
Immunological Memory
What is Immunological Memory?
Immunological memory is an integral function of the immune system that allows it to recognize and react more rapidly and effectively to pathogens previously encountered. This feature...
Immunodeficiency Diseases
There are three main causes of immunodeficiency...
What is the Immune System?
Immune Response Against Viral Pathogens
NK Cells
NK cells are a crucial part of our innate immune system, acting as the first line of defense against viral infections. These cells can recognize and kill infected cells without prior exposure to the virus, effectively slowing down the spread of infection. Additionally, NK cells produce proinflammatory...
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings....

