TLC Sessions - Living with Long Covid TLC Sessions

Dr Theoharis Theoharides, aka “The Mast Cell Master”, has been exploring the world of Mast Cells, their influence on our bodily functions, neurology and genetic make up, for over half a century. The Director of the Center of Excellence for Neuroinflammation Research and Professor at the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine at Nova Southeastern University joins us this week to discuss the role that Mast Cells play in neurological conditions such as Long Covid, and the way in which we infl...

Conor Browne, an independent Biorisk Consultant, analyses biosecurity risks for governmental bodies, commercial enterprises and NGOs, aiding with business continuity, forecasting and policy. He understood that Covid-19 was airborne in February 2020 but, he says, “it’s the first message that sticks”. In this week’s episode he discusses how our governments’ initial messaging of handwashing and surface-to-surface transmission had a huge impact on the course of the pandemic. We t...

David Cutler, Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University, has spent his career assessing the economics of healthcare. Over the past four years he has applied his skills to assessing the cost of Covid, and subsequently Long Covid, on the U.S. economy. His original analysis, published in JAMA in 2022, suggested that Long Covid would cost the U.S. economy $2.6 trillion, but with the chronic condition proving more prevalent and prolonged than originally estimated, those figu...

Dr Nancy Klimas, Director of the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, is an immunologist internationally renowned for her work in multi-symptom illnesses. In this week’s episode she explains her work, from HIV through ME/CFS and Gulf War Syndrome, that has led to her having insight and an amazing team to channel efforts into Long Covid research and treatment. In an insightful overview she describes her work in understanding the mechanisms (viral persi...

Dr Rob Wüst, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Movement and Behaviour Sciences, is an expert cardiac and skeletal muscle metabolism and mitochondrial function. He and the team at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, published the “PEM study” in Nature Communications, which investigated the muscular changes in Long Covid patients who experience post-exertional malaise (PEM), or “the worsening of fatigue- and pain-related symptoms after acute mental or physical exercise”. In this week’...

Dr Thomas Chelimsky, Professor of Neurology and Director of VCU’s autonomic laboratory, is a specialist in autonomic dysfunction and a vocal advocate for considering the mind and body as one cohesive system. He, along with his team at the VCU clinic, take a unique brain-body approach to treating Long Covid patients, with success.In this week’s episode he discusses the autonomic issues faced by Long Covid patients including migraine, which he believes is prevalent in c. 50% of patients, ...