𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗

A potential explanation for why some COVID-19 survivors have cognitive difficulties, according to a report, the spike protein, a component of COVID-19, was discovered by researchers in Germany that part of the virus, the spike protein, remains in the brain long after the virus clears out. Brain fog, memory loss, and difficulty concentrating may be the result of inflammation and damage caused by the spike protein (Rong et al., 2023). Fortunately, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is shown in various research to be helpful. Kampo, a branch of TCM that originates from Japan, uses several formulas to help with sequalae of Brain-fog, naming 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘶𝘪 𝘡𝘩𝘶 𝘎𝘢𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘨, 𝘑𝘪𝘢 𝘞𝘦𝘪 𝘟𝘪𝘢𝘰 𝘠𝘢 𝘚𝘢𝘯, 𝘚𝘩𝘪 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘯 𝘋𝘢 𝘉𝘶 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘨, and 𝘚𝘪 𝘞𝘶 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘨 as effective remedies among others (Takayama et al., 2021). Acupuncture has also been shown to positively affect disease outcome by modulating inflammation, restoring healthy nitric oxide production, adjusting redox imbalance, and regulating blood pressure (Williams & Moramarco, 2022). In TCM, it is crucial to identify the syndromes or patterns of the patients before embarking on any treatment, hence acupoints and herbal formulae selection are much dependent upon the individual constitution and patterns. Once this has been established, a treatment plan would be formulated and explained to the patient to help them with Long COVID. Most Long COVID patients find relief with TCM treatment and those who are on the course of TCM treatment while having COVID tends to have lighter symptoms and recover faster without much sequalae (An et al., 2021, Huang et al., 2021, and Liu, 2020). In our practice, we combined acupuncture and herbal treatment in managing Long COVID, especially in brain fog and exhaustion. However, those with more severe symptoms 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 before embarking on traditional medicine. 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: An, X., Zhang, Y. H., Duan, L., Jin, D., Zhao, S., Zhou, R. R., Duan, Y., Lian, F., & Tong, X. (2021). The direct evidence and mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine treatment of covid-19. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 137, 111267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2021.111267 Damian McNamara, M. A. (2023, April 14). Had Covid? part of the virus may stick around in your brain. Medscape. Retrieved April 23, 2023, from https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/990741?ecd=wnl_tp10_daily_230422_MSCPEDIT_etid5360140&uac=389008FV&impID=5360140 Huang, K., Zhang, P., Zhang, Z., Youn, J. Y., Wang, C., Zhang, H., & Cai, H. (2021). Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the treatment of covid-19 and other viral infections: Efficacies and mechanisms. Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 225, 107843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2021.107843 Liu, C.-xiao. (2020). Pay attention to situation of SARS-COV-2 and TCM advantages in treatment of novel coronavirus infection. Chinese Herbal Medicines, 12(2), 97–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chmed.2020.03.004 Rong, Z., Mai, H., Kapoor, S., Puelles, V. G., Czogalla, J., Schädler, J., Vering, J., Delbridge, C., Steinke, H., Frenzel, H., Schmidt, K., Caliskan, Ö. S., Wettengel, J. M., Cherif, F., Ali, M., Kolabas, Z. I., Ulukaya, S., Horvath, I., Zhao, S., … Ertürk, A. (2023). SARS-COV-2 spike protein accumulation in the skull-meninges-brain axis: Potential implications for long-term neurological complications in post-COVID-19. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.04.535604 Takayama, S., Namiki, T., Odaguchi, H., Arita, R., Hisanaga, A., Mitani, K., & Ito, T. (2021). Prevention and recovery of COVID-19 patients with Kampo Medicine: Review of Case Reports and ongoing clinical trials. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.656246 Tokumasu, K., Ueda, K., Honda, H., Sunada, N., Sakurada, Y., Matsuda, Y., Nakano, Y., Hasegawa, T., Otsuka, Y., Obika, M., Hagiya, H., Kataoka, H., & Otsuka, F. (2022). Application of Kampo medicines for treatment of general fatigue due to Long Covid. Medicina, 58(6), 730. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58060730 Williams, J. E., & Moramarco, J. (2022). The role of acupuncture for Long Covid: Mechanisms and models. Medical Acupuncture, 34(3), 159–166. https://doi.org/10.1089/acu.2021.0090