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Covid-19 damages main respiratory muscle – Wel.nl

One of the best known symptoms of Covid-19 is shortness of breath. Researchers have now discovered a possible cause: the new coronavirus attacks the main respiratory muscles in the diaphragm.

Scientists from Amsterdam UMC and Radboudumc examined 26 deceased corona patients and found inflammatory reactions and connective tissue formation in the diaphragm. In some cases the virus was also in the muscle cells, according to their article in the trade journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Principal researcher and professor of physiology Coen Ottenheijm of the Amsterdam UMC says to the NOS: “We see extreme changes in these patients that we have never seen before. The kind of anomalies that we have found will certainly not occur in a few days. Those are more like processes of weeks. ”

The professor explains: “The symptoms we saw in them are normally only found in people with an advanced form of muscle diseases. But these patients did not have to contend with that. ”

Corona patients who are cured often also have complaints. “About one in three ex-patients still suffer from shortness of breath after two months,” says the professor. “But their heart function, blood values ​​and lung pictures no longer show any abnormalities. This suggests that diaphragm weakness is a major cause of that shortness of breath. ”

Follow-up research should reveal whether the damage is permanent.

Bron (nen): WE

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