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There are striking parallels between the two syndromes \u2013 and scientists hope the link could help to unravel the mysteries of both.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Midway through 2023, the neurologist Ioannis Mavroudis was working his way through the latest backlog of cases when he was struck by a revelation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As a concussion specialist who had spent many years in his post at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Mavroudis had found himself dealing with a growing influx of patients with Long Covid \u2013 a loose assortment of health problems developed after an infection with Covid-19.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Many of these patients were presenting with a range of neurological symptoms. Mavroudis could not help but notice that their symptom patterns \u2013 fatigue, sleep disturbances, light and noise sensitivity, exercise intolerance and problems with memory and concentration \u2013 were strikingly similar to those associated with another mysterious long-term condition known as post-concussion syndrome or ‘Long Concussion’.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Instead of being triggered by a viral infection,\u00a0post-concussion syndrome<\/a>\u00a0can affect anyone who has suffered some form of a knock to the head, leaving them with symptoms lasting for months or years. The initial impact can range from extremely mild to severe, and it can affect both\u00a0professional and amateur athletes<\/a>,\u00a0military veterans<\/a>,\u00a0victims of physical abuse<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0epileptic patients<\/a> who have fallen during a seizure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “I work with athletes, and I\u2019ve seen many professional rugby players with this,” says Mavroudis. “Like Long Covid, some end up suffering with it for many years.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mavroudis believes that post-concussion syndrome is related to the energy demand on the brain\u2019s neurons as a result of the head trauma, something which\u00a0has been discussed<\/a>\u00a0in research papers. \u201cEarly in the concussion, the neurons need so much energy, more than the brain can provide, which causes the fatigue, and then they get locked in this vicious cycle,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mavroudis was so intrigued by the overlap that he cited it in a scientific review of post-concussion syndrome,\u00a0published in May<\/a>\u00a02023. But he wasn’t the first to note it. Half a year earlier, a group of concussion experts at the University of Denver, Colorado, had\u00a0also published<\/a>\u00a0their findings on the seemingly unlikely parallels between the two conditions.<\/p>\n