Amsterdam Public Health

The newly opened Post-COVID Center of Expertise is offering care for patients struggling with lingering symptoms after COVID-19. During a recent visit, NPO Radio 1's Spraakmakers radio show interviewed Professor Michèle van Vugt, Coordinator of the post-COVID center at Amsterdam UMC. Michèle van Vugt, Professor in internal medicine and topic leader post-acute infection syndromes (PAIS) at the Amsterdam Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, also recently received €992.633 from ZonMw to conduct a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, designed to evaluate whether sonlicromanol can mitigate mitochondrial dysfunction’s cytotoxic effects, which may underlie post-COVID symptoms.

‘Everything these patients do requires effort,’ Prof. van Vugt told Spraakmakers, highlighting the complexity and variability of symptoms reported by those suffering from post-COVID syndrome. ‘We are working hard to uncover the underlying causes, but much remains a mystery.’

A Malfunctioning "Energy Factory" - The leading hypothesis is that an internal system disruption, potentially tied to cellular “energy factories” or a key enzyme, is causing widespread issues. ‘It must be something that impacts all the body’s organs and tissues,’ Prof. van Vugt explained.

Fatigue and Nervous System Disruption - Fatigue is the most common complaint across patient groups. ‘This links directly to those malfunctioning energy factories,’ Prof. van Vugt said. Other symptoms, such as dysfunction in the nervous system, are also prevalent. ‘It seems the virus has disrupted a balance that existed before, creating a systemic mismatch,’ she added.

Challenges in Treatment - Some patients are so sensitive to stimuli that they can only endure complete darkness and silence at home. While certain medications provide temporary relief, a cure has yet to be found. ‘We have ideas, but we are still far from concrete answers,’ Prof. Van Vugt admitted.