Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Sep 29:14:1120475.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1120475. eCollection 2023.

Psychophysical therapy and underlying neuroendocrine mechanisms for the rehabilitation of long COVID-19

Qing-Tai Meng  1 , Wu-Qi Song  1 , Leonid P Churilov  2 , Feng-Min Zhang  1 , Yu-Feng Wang  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Psychophysical therapy and underlying neuroendocrine mechanisms for the rehabilitation of long COVID-19

Qing-Tai Meng et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

With the global epidemic and prevention of the COVID-19, long COVID-19 sequelae and its comprehensive prevention have attracted widespread attention. Long COVID-19 sequelae refer to that three months after acute COVID-19, the test of SARS-CoV-2 is negative, but some symptoms still exist, such as cough, prolonged dyspnea and fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations and insomnia. Its pathological mechanism is related to direct viral damage, immunopathological response, endocrine and metabolism disorders. Although there are more effective methods for treating COVID-19, the treatment options available for patients with long COVID-19 remain quite limited. Psychophysical therapies, such as exercise, oxygen therapy, photobiomodulation, and meditation, have been attempted as treatment modalities for long COVID-19, which have the potential to promote recovery through immune regulation, antioxidant effects, and neuroendocrine regulation. Neuroendocrine regulation plays a significant role in repairing damage after viral infection, regulating immune homeostasis, and improving metabolic activity in patients with long COVID-19. This review uses oxytocin as an example to examine the neuroendocrine mechanisms involved in the psychophysical therapies of long COVID-19 syndrome and proposes a psychophysical strategy for the treatment of long COVID-19.

Keywords: hormone; long COVID-19; psychophysical therapies; rehabilitation; sequelae.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagrammatic summary of the common symptoms, pathogenesis and treatments of long COVID-19 sequelae.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Carfì A, Bernabei R, Landi F. Persistent symptoms in patients after acute COVID-19. JAMA (2020) 324(6):603–5. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.12603 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huang L, Yao Q, Gu X, Wang Q, Ren L, Wang Y, et al. . 1-year outcomes in hospital survivors with COVID-19: a longitudinal cohort study. Lancet (2021) 398(10302):747–58. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01755-4 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huang C, Huang L, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Gu X, et al. . 6-month consequences of COVID-19 in patients discharged from hospital: a cohort study. Lancet (2021) 397(10270):220–32. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32656-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Osmanov IM, Spiridonova E, Bobkova P, Gamirova A, Shikhaleva A, Andreeva M, et al. . Risk factors for post-COVID-19 condition in previously hospitalised children using the ISARIC Global follow-up protocol: a prospective cohort study. Eur Respir J (2022) 59(2):2101341. doi: 10.1183/13993003.01341-2021 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Montani D, Savale L, Noel N, Meyrignac O, Colle R, Gasnier M, et al. . Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome. Eur Respir Rev (2022) 31(163):210185. doi: 10.1183/16000617.0185-2021 - DOI - PMC - PubMed