First Long Covid patients now heading to new specialized centers

Starting Friday, patients with long-term symptoms of Covid-19 can be referred by their doctors to one of the country’s first three Post-Covid specialist centers. These opened in the academic hospitals Maastricht UMC+, Amsterdam UMC, and Erasmus MC in Rotterdam.

These centers will assess and treat patients but may not have capacity for everyone. According to a spokesperson, approximately 1,000 patients can be seen by January, though around 90,000 adults are estimated to suffer from Post-Covid, also known as Long Covid. Eventually, all university medical centers are expected to open their own specialist centers.

It may take a few days before the first patients are admitted. Children with Long Covid symptoms can also be referred to Maastricht, Amsterdam, and Utrecht, but they may need to wait for access to treatment. Plans are still underway to expedite this. The exact number of children suffering from Post-Covid remains unknown but is believed to be much lower than for adults.

Common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, memory and concentration issues, muscle pain, and heart palpitations. To qualify, adults must have had symptoms for at least a year, show significant fatigue, and preferably have tried therapies like physical or occupational therapy. Children can be referred after six months of symptoms.

The centers will also work with the Post-Covid Network Netherlands (PCNN) to collect data and conduct research on the chronic condition. Specialists plan to share findings with other health providers to create standardized treatments across the country. The centers’ research will not only address care but will also aim to uncover the physiological factors behind Long Covid.

One such finding has already provided valuable insight into the physical origins of fatigue in Long Covid patients. Researchers at Amsterdam UMC and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam recently identified abnormalities in the muscle tissue of these patients, particularly at the cellular level.

“At the cellular level, we observed that the mitochondria—the cell’s ‘energy factories’—were functioning less effectively and producing less energy,” said Professor Michèle van Vugt, a lead researcher. “The cause of the fatigue is genuinely biological. Muscles require energy to move, and this discovery allows us to explore effective treatments for long COVID patients.”