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Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy

@angryhacademic.bsky.social

660 followers 250 following 4K posts

#LongCovid Scientific Consultant PhD Nutrition & Metabolism Hon Research Fellow, Lund Uni Posts: nutrition ▪ health ▪ all-things-science ▪ activism ▪ fun facts ▪ #PostVac Donations: https://ko-fi.com/drsmash Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LongCovidSC

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Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · Nov 14

Want help navigating the #longCOVID #postvac and related #chronicillness space? Want evidence, rather than be sold another protocol?

If so, I aim to help bring some clarity to things!

Book an appointment: lc-sc.co.uk/book-an-appo...
✉️ [email protected] (🚫please no DMs)

Long Covid scientific consultancy poster reading:
Helping bring clarity to long covid, covid vaccine injury and similar illnesses. Have you or a loved one had a COVID infection or vaccination, & things haven't been right since?
Maybe symptoms like… (symptoms pointing to an outline of a body)
Thirst, dry mouth or dry eyes
Problems thinking clearly
Tinnitus
Palpitations
Chest pain
Difficulties exercising
Exhaustion
Insomnia
Rashes
Legs change colour or swell when you stand up
Muscle/joint pain
Fingers, arms, or legs tingling
Food intolerances
Nausea
Breathlessness
...among many other things

If so, Long Covid Scientific Consultancy aims to help!

Harriet A. Carroll, PhD
www.LC-SC.co.uk
Harriet@lc-sc.co.uk

Poster reading:
Do you:
Feel unsure about what is going on,& you’re struggling to find answers or make sense of things?
Want help interpreting test results, or deciding what tests to ask for?
Want help navigating evidence, not be sold another protocol?
Read so much that you are now overwhelmed & dont know where to start?
Feel abandoned or dismissed by your healthcare provider, or been told there is nothing that can be done to help?
In my own journey, I remember frantically trying to find answers & getting constantly dismissed by doctors. Looking back, I wish I had some guidance from someone. This guidance is what Long Covid Scientific Consultancy aims to provide. I hope to support you in making evidence-based decisions on your journey...

5 star reviews:
“None of [my medical team] have had the depth of knowledge & understanding that Harriet demonstrated”~Anita
“It’s wonderful to have access to someone who is so knowledgeable & whom I feel I can can really trust” ~Jill

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Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

And a nice diagram at the end showing mitochondria are implicated in:
Neurodegenerative disorders
Parkinson's
Stroke
Developmental regression
Cardiomyopathy
Conduction defect
Atherosclerosis
Diabetes
Cancer
Liver & kidney disease
Infertility
Immune deficits
Myopathy

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

On COVID:
"patients with the worst prognosis exhibited alterations in the TCA cycle (mitochondrial dysfunction), lipid metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, and coagulation pathways"

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

I am reminded that mitochondria transplants could be the future:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Mitochondrial transplantation: an overview of a promising therapeutic approach

Mitochondrial transplantation is a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of mitochondrial diseases caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA, as well as several metabolic and neurological di...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

"mitochondria can also be transferred between cells to provide energy or serve as DAMPs for inflammatory stimulation...the transfer of normal & functional mitochondria from mesenchymal stem cells to mammalian cells with dysfunctional mitochondria...[restored] aerobic respiration"

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

Side note because I see this one a lot: even autophagy isn't always "good"
Cancer: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Viral infections: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Ischaemia-reperfusion injuries: cmbl.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

General: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

The Double-Edge Sword of Autophagy in Cancer: From Tumor Suppression to Pro-tumor Activity

During tumorigenesis, cancer cells are exposed to a wide variety of intrinsic and extrinsic stresses that challenge homeostasis and growth. Cancer cells display activation of distinct mechanisms for a...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

As ever, nothing is simple in physiology - rarely is something definitively "good" or "bad", context is key

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

I included this because we often think of oxidative stress as always a bad thing, but ROS have a lot of very important roles, including helping to kill pathogens and even helping with vasoconstriction (something many of us struggle with)
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Editorial: The Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Protective Immunity

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

"Therefore, mitochondrial ROS serve as double-edged sword in host defense and pathological inflammation during infection"

ROS = reactive oxygen species AKA oxidative stress ("opposite" of antioxidants which counteract this)

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

"Moderate levels of mtROS are often induced by danger signals, such as bacterial endotoxin LPS, which play a crucial role in regulating the inflammatory response. High levels of mtROS activation can initiate apoptosis & autophagy cell death pathways"

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

...particularly in activating human aortic endothelial cells. This activation is crucial for recruitment of immune surveillance cells into tissues & arteries, facilitating the early detection & response to infections, the emergence of tumorigenesis, & the presence of DAMPs/PAMPs"

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

"whether mtROS in cells trigger inflammation depends on their concentrations. In hypoxic conditions...mitochondria adapt by generating low levels of mtROS as part of a broad metabolic adjustment. These low doses of mtROS play a pivotal role in physiological processes...

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

Lots of ways a cell can die ☠️

"MOMP [mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization] can be therapeutically targeted to manipulate cell death holds tremendous therapeutic potential across different diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancers"

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

"mitochondria are key regulators of different types of cell death, including apoptosis, necrosis, pyroptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition pore-mediated death, caspase-independent, necroptosis, ferroptosis, cuproptosis, mitophagy-related, & neutrophil extracellular trap"

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

I wonder if the higher mutation rate is implicated in acquired metabolic dysfunction and diseases?

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

"The mutation rate of mtDNA is estimated to be 10 to 20 times higher than that of nuclear DNA due to several factors, including the absence of protective histones, the generation of mtROS in the inner mitochondrial membrane, and the presence of limited repair mechanisms"

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 13h

A new paradigm in intracellular immunology: Mitochondria emerging as leading immune organelles sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Heavy, but interesting review on immunometabolism

Some random interesting bits 👇

A new paradigm in intracellular immunology: Mitochondria emerging as leading immune organelles

Mitochondria, traditionally recognized as cellular 'powerhouses' due to their pivotal role in energy production, have emerged as multifunctional organ…

sciencedirect.com

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Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 14h

Some more info/cautions here: www.fda.gov/food/informa...

Vinpocetine in Dietary Supplements

Vinpocetine does not meet the definition of a dietary ingredient.

www.fda.gov

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 14h

Has anyone tried vinpocetine?

Allegedly:
🧠 Enhance memory and ↑ brain metabolism
🩸 Used in ischaemia reperfusion injuries
🪖 Considered neuroprotective
❌ But not much research to support it's use in stroke, dementia, or other CNS diseases

www.drugs.com/npp/vinpocet...

Vinpocetine Uses, Benefits & Dosage

Learn about the potential benefits of Vinpocetine including contraindications, adverse reactions, toxicology, pharmacology and historical usage.

www.drugs.com

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Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 14h

Studies like the above help us muddle through what might be causing the endometriotic lesions, leading to better treatments - targeted at the fundamental pathology, rather than (solely) the consequence of that pathology

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 14h

Much like POTS - where tachycardia is the diagnostic feature, and treatment is largely based around lowering heart rate - I feel like endometriotic lesions are the CONSEQUENCE of whatever endometriosis actually is

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 14h

For example, endometriosis patients have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease:
www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Pres...

No gynaecologist has ever discussed this with me

Women with endometriosis at greater associated risk of heart attack and stroke

Your access to the latest cardiovascular news, science, tools and resources.

www.escardio.org

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 14h

This is important because, whilst not definitive, it adds to growing evidence that endometriosis is a SYSTEMIC disease. Yet it's usually thought of as a gynaecological disease affecting periods and fertility.

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 14h

Metabolomic biomarkers of endometriosis
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

"potential metabolomic biomarkers for the diagnosis of endometriosis [included] threonic acid & 3-hydroxybutyric acid, succinate, citrate, lactate, acetone, 3-hydroxybutyrate, acylcarnitines & sphingomyelins"

Metabolomic biomarkers of endometriosis: A systematic review

The purpose of this systematic review was to identify potential metabolomic biomarkers of endometriosis in plasma, serum, peritoneal fluid, follicular…

www.sciencedirect.com

Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 15h

Cognitive and mental health outcomes in long covid
Rapid Response: Research must consider Post Exertional Malaise as a neurological event underpinning fluctuating cognitive dysfunction in Long Covid
www.bmj.com/content/390/...

Excellent letter by Dr Selina Shaw

Research must consider Post Exertional Malaise as a neurological event underpinning fluctuating cognitive dysfunction in Long Covid

www.bmj.com

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Harriet Carroll: Long Covid Scientific Consultancy @angryhacademic.bsky.social · 17h

If you want your day ruined, check figure 2 in this paper:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

I am warning you 😂😂 you can never unsee this 😆