Translational insights into Long-COVID: evaluation of preclinical animal models along the lung-brain-immune axis with focus on Golden Syrian Hamsters
Narendra Kumar, Navya Khandavalli, Sean N. Avedissian, Hitendra S. Chand, Arpan Acharya, Siddappa N. Byrareddy · 2026
Read Translational insights into Long-COVID: evaluation of preclinical animal models along the lung-brain-immune axis with focus on Golden Syrian Hamsters by Narendra Kumar, Navya Khandavalli, Sean N. Avedissian, Hitendra S. Chand, Arpan Acharya, Siddappa N. Byrareddy (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13560408.txt.
Description
Narendra Kumar and colleagues review animal models of Long-COVID, arguing the Golden Syrian Hamster best captures the disease's lung-brain-immune tangle. Their 2026 article synthesizes preclinical evidence across species. Long-COVID spans over two hundred reported symptoms, with unresolved lung inflammation and immune dysregulation suspected of feeding brain problems.
Hamsters catch SARS-CoV-2 naturally, without genetic modification, and mirror human acute disease: strong viral replication, lung damage, and inflammation. Past the acute phase they develop lingering faults along the same axis, including poor alveolar repair, fibrotic remodeling, brain inflammation, viral persistence, and behavior changes. Mice and primates each offer different trade-offs in relevance, cost, and feasibility. The hamster's gaps include scarce immune reagents and weakly validated behavior tests. The authors still judge it the most balanced platform for testing Long-COVID therapies.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Narendra Kumar, Navya Khandavalli, Sean N. Avedissian, Hitendra S. Chand, Arpan Acharya, Siddappa N. Byrareddy |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 94683 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |