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Long COVID Brain Fog Linked to Inflammation and Stress Markers

Justin M. Larson
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Long COVID Brain Fog Linked to Inflammation and Stress Markers


Summary: A new study comparing long COVID patients with fully recovered individuals has found that those with persistent cognitive symptoms, like brain fog, show higher brain inflammation and reduced capacity to handle stress. The study revealed lower levels of nerve growth factor and elevated inflammatory markers in the long COVID group.

Despite performing similarly on standard cognitive tests, these individuals reported poorer quality of life, physical and emotional health, and showed deficits in verbal fluency. These findings validate the experiences of long COVID patients and suggest biological markers could help clinicians better diagnose and treat persistent symptoms.

Key Facts:

  • Biomarker Imbalance: Long COVID patients had lower nerve growth factor and higher IL-10, indicating impaired neuroplasticity and inflammation.
  • Language Deficits: Participants with long COVID performed worse on letter fluency tests, despite otherwise normal cognitive assessments.
  • Lower Quality of Life: Long COVID patients reported poorer physical, emotional, and psychological well-being than recovered individuals.

Source: Corewell Health

A new study that is the first to compare inflammation and brain stress responses in long COVID-19 patients with individuals who have fully recovered shows that those with continued brain fog and other cognitive issues have a lower ability to adapt to stress and higher levels of inflammation in their brains.

While previous long COVID studies have shown changes in these markers in mice, this study evaluated the infection’s impact on the brain in documented COVID-positive patients.

This shows a head and red fog.
According to the study authors, the struggle physicians have with evaluating long COVID patients is that when asked to complete various written diagnostic tests, they tend to look normal. Credit: Neuroscience News

Up until now, physicians have found it difficult to understand why certain patients develop post-COVID cognitive symptoms while others do not. Recent studies estimate tens of millions of people worldwide still have not recovered from the COVID infection, even five years later.

“We compared our long COVID participants to our healthy, fully recovered control group based on neurocognitive measures, emotional functioning, measures of quality of life as well as specific changes in blood markers assessing stress response,” said lead author Michael Lawrence, Ph.D., neuropsychologist at Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“To our knowledge, this is the first controlled study that shows specific self-reported neurocognitive and central nervous systems changes in long COVID patients which validates the symptoms they’ve been experiencing.”

The pilot study, published in PLOS One, included 17 confirmed COVID patients (10 with long COVID and seven who were fully recovered with no lingering symptoms) and found the following:  

  • Serum levels of nerve growth factor, a biomarker of the brain’s ability to change and adapt by forming new connections, were significantly lower in the long COVID group. This group was also more likely to have higher serum levels of interleukin (IL)-10, a marker of inflammation.
  • While there was virtually no difference between groups related to neuropsychological test outcomes, long COVID participants did score significantly lower on letter fluency, meaning they had more difficulty with quickly and accurately accessing language centers in the brain and producing words beginning with various letters.
  • The long COVID group also had significantly lower ratings than healthy controls on quality of life, physical health, emotional functioning and psychological well-being responses.

“Although this is a small study and more work needs to be done, from a clinical application standpoint, physicians potentially can identify individuals who are struggling sooner and provide wrap-around care that could be helpful to them,” said Judith Arnetz, Ph.D., professor emerita at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and corresponding author of the study.

According to the study authors, the struggle physicians have with evaluating long COVID patients is that when asked to complete various written diagnostic tests, they tend to look normal. 

“These patients experience significant frustration, and their symptoms often may be minimized by friends, family and even the medical community,” Dr. Lawrence said.

“It’s tough when everything looks normal on paper, but our patients continue to struggle and report a multitude of difficulties.”  

Dr. Arnetz agreed and indicated that physicians might want to take a multidisciplinary approach to care and assess inflammatory and brain biomarkers, which could ultimately offer a better path forward in treating patients with long COVID.

“Additional services such as speech therapy, psychotherapy for stress reduction and incorporating medications that target fatigue and mental fogginess could all be elements of creating a successful treatment plan as well,” Dr. Lawrence said.

About this long COVID and neurology research news

Author: Sarina Gleason
Source: Corewell Health
Contact: Sarina Gleason – Corewell Health
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: The findings will appear in PLOS One



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What the Critics Are Saying

Justin M. Larson
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What the Critics Are Saying


Ethan Hunt’s story is now over, supposedly — and early watchers are responding to the last Mission: Impossible installment.

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, the final film in the spy action franchise, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday and received a five-minute standing ovation. The film was directed by Christopher McQuarrie with a budget nearing $400 million. Leading up to the highly anticipated movie’s release, Tom Cruise‘s jaw-dropping stunts like him holding on the side of a helicopter and the under water sequence has been promoted on the film’s social media and the star’s own account.

Final Reckoning begins a couple of months after 2023’s Dead Reckoning ends. Hunt (Cruise) and the IMF team are on a mission to stop Gabriel Martinelli (Esai Morales) from getting access to the world-ending rogue artificial intelligence known as “The Entity.” Simon Pegg, Angela Bassett, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny and Pom Klementieff round out the cast.

As of Thursday, the film sits at an 82 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. It officially hits theaters on May 23, by Paramount, the same day as the live-action Lilo & Stitch. The two projects are expected to earn the biggest Memorial Day box office sales in history. Below, read on to know what critics are saying in the first reviews of the movie.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic, David Rooney, praised Cruise‘s performance in his review, “Cruise’s commitment to performing his own stunts and giving audiences the analog thrill of in-camera daredevilry instead of digital fakery has progressed to ever more astonishing feats over the course of eight Mission: Impossible movies. It’s the key reason for this franchise’s longevity — along with the self-destructing mission instructions, the identity-switching facemasks, the heroic sprints and the high-speed vehicular chases.” However, he ultimately felt, “The Final Reckoning ends up being a bit on the dull side. If it’s going to be the last we see of one of the most consistently entertaining franchises to come out of Hollywood in the past few decades — a subject about which Cruise and McQuarrie have remained vague — it’s a disappointing farewell with a handful of high points courtesy of the indefatigable lead actor.”

USA Today‘s movie critic Brian Truitt wrote, “Overall, there’s an Avengers: Endgame feel to Final Reckoning, throwing back to plot points and characters from previous films.” Elsewhere, the publication stated, “If The Final Reckoning is indeed at hand, you couldn’t ask for a better death-defying, free-falling, edge-of-your-dang-seat sendoff.”

Vulture‘s movie critic Bilge Ebiri wrote, “Final Reckoning does eventually recover from the calamity of its first hour to give us an entertaining, if still messy, Mission: Impossible movie. It achieves this by tuning out the broody chatter of its first act and giving us a lengthy, ingenious (and refreshingly silent) sequence inside a sunken submarine, a wreck whose unstable spot on the sea floor ensures that our hero will wind up bouncing and rolling around a room inconveniently filled with floating torpedoes.” 

The New York Times‘ chief film critic Manohla Dargis wrote, “Male-driven action movies often have a savior complex, with heroes who are beaten and brutalized only at last to rise vengefully triumphant. Final Reckoning leans hard into that familiar theme — the team faces betrayal, the fate of everyone on Earth is in Ethan’s hands — which gives the movie a quasi-religious dimension. That’s weird, no doubt, but there’s something plaintive about Ethan’s fight this time because it echoes the urgent struggles of workers in the entertainment industry (and everywhere else) to prevent their replacement by artificial intelligence. For years, Cruise has put on a very good show pretending to nearly die for our pleasure; now, though, his body really does seem on the line.”

Despite the film’s promotion of its action sequences, IndieWire‘s reviews editor and head film critic, David Ehrlich, surprising wrote, “The longest Mission: Impossible movie ever has, by far, the least action to offer in return.” The film’s run time is nearly three hours long.

Time magazine’s film critic Stephanie Zacharek criticized its story as its biggest issue, writing, “It’s big, extravagant, and at times very beautiful to look at. The story is the problem: packed with expository dialogue, it feels as if it were written to be digested in 10- or 15-minute bites. Characters robotically repeat significant McGuffiny phrases. The Rabbit’s Foot! The Anti-God! The Doomsday Vault! Final Reckoning doesn’t flow; it lurches forward in a series of information-delivery packets. If you’ve seen the first half of this double whammy, 2023’s conveniently titled Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, but forgotten what the hell it was all about, you needn’t worry. You could queue up Final Reckoning at home, go out to walk the dog, and get caught up in a snap when you return. And how cinematic is that?“

YouTube critic Jeremy Jahns spoke highly of those “epic” stunts in his review, “When I say this is a stunt work showcase I mean it and we’re right there to where it almost feels like to its detriment. But the stunts are so fucking entertaining and well executed you can’t help but have fun while watching … that plane scene was absolutely epic, the tension was real,” he said. “Mission Impossible may have started out being basically American James Bond, it’s ended somewhere between Bond and Fast & Furious, somewhere in between those two. Mission Impossible has leaned into itself, it’s leaned into the meme. Tom Cruise running montage videos on YouTube, this movie gives them more clips for the next one even when it doesn’t make any sense.”





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Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla undergoes groundbreaking altitude training for Ax-4 mission preparation |

Justin M. Larson
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Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla undergoes groundbreaking altitude training for Ax-4 mission preparation |


Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla undergoes groundbreaking altitude training for Ax-4 mission preparation

Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who has been tasked with the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, has just finished a crucial part of his space training, which involved altitude exercises. These simulations, meant to mimic the low-pressure environment of space, are necessary to prepare astronauts to work in extreme conditions and perform under pressure. The training involves exposure to sudden pressure variations, low oxygen environments, and emergency simulation training, preparing astronauts for unforeseen situations. Shukla’s training also aids India’s Gaganyaan mission, representing a major milestone in private as well as national space exploration activities.Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to embark on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS), with the launch scheduled for May 29, 2025, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

Shubhanshu Shukla leads Ax-4 mission crew in advanced altitude training

Ax-4 mission crew performed a series of altitude simulations, and these simulations were conducted in a highly advanced atmospheric chamber. The chamber is specifically designed to replicate low-pressure conditions of space, and the astronauts are exposed to conditions drastically different from Earth’s atmosphere. Through this training not only can the astronauts get acclimatized to such hostile environments, but they become also more effective performers in conditions of high stress.One of the major goals of the altitude training was to mimic the low-pressure and oxygen-poor conditions of space. During the simulation of these conditions, the astronauts were exposed to brief pressure changes and reduced oxygen. These tasks are relevant to the comprehension of risk involved in space travel, for instance, hypoxia—the state of lack of oxygen that makes mental as well as physical processes non-operational. This data enables astronauts to predict and counteract such possible issues while in flight.Apart from the theory of high-altitude physiology, the astronauts were also given practical, ground-based emergency response training. The training is essential in sharpening their decision-making to allow them to respond quickly and effectively under pressure-cooker situations. The integration of simulated exercises and emergency procedures equips astronauts with the capability to manage any unforeseen issues that will plague them as they journey through space.

How does expert feedback ensure astronauts are mission-ready

During all of the altitude training sessions, medical professionals and training experts watched carefully over the performance of the astronauts. Their responsibility was to provide immediate feedback, providing individualized modifications to each astronaut’s training if necessary. Through this constant evaluation, every astronaut is well prepared to handle the particular demands of their next mission.The high-altitude training provided an opportunity for astronauts to get well acclimatized with their body responses in conditions of stress. Already conditioned on the simulated level to low-pressure conditions, the astronauts are able to recognise any vulnerable points and come up with effective counter-masses against stress. First-hand experience, besides carrying a greater confidence level, carries also an enhanced competency level for encountering the space flight conditions.

Shubhanshu Shukla prepares for Gaganyaan with groundbreaking Ax-4 training

Axiom Space’s fourth commercial spaceflight, Ax-4, is a giant step towards commercial spaceflight. As increasingly more space missions are being carried out by private entities, increasingly more crucial has it become to incorporate astronaut training into it. The grueling training procedure that Shukla and his fellow co-crew members are undergoing is paving the way for astronaut readiness in upcoming space missions.Skills and experience that Shubhanshu Shukla gains through this rigorous altitude training will also go a long way towards India’s domestic space exploration missions. Shukla’s training is central to the success of India’s Gaganyaan mission, India’s first human spaceflight mission. This is a major achievement for India’s expanding space activities and demonstrates the promise of international cooperation and exchange of skills towards achievements in space research.Also Read | NASA reveals Earth’s ‘twin’ planet is more active than we thought





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Common Energy Drink Ingredient Linked to Blood Cancer

Justin M. Larson
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Common Energy Drink Ingredient Linked to Blood Cancer


NEED TO KNOW

  • Taurine has been linked with the progression of the blood cancer leukemia, according to new research published in Nature
  • The amino acid may fuel cancer cells, with researchers saying it was found to “significantly accelerate disease progression”
  • Researchers said, given its inclusion in energy drinks and often as a supplement, “it may be of interest to carefully consider” having leukemia patients consume taurine

A common energy drink ingredient has been linked to the progression of the blood cancer leukemia, prompting researchers to voice concerns about the consumption of those beverages.

Taurine — an amino acid that occurs naturally in proteins like meat and fish — is a common ingredient in energy drinks like Red Bull. As the Mayo Clinic explains it can help balance fluids, salts and minerals. 

PEOPLE has reached out to Red Bull for comment.

Stock image of energy drinks.

Getty


But according to research published in Nature, taurine may promote leukaemogenesis — the development of leukemia cells — and “identifies taurine as a key regulator of myeloid malignancies,” which, like leukemia, are cancers that begin in the blood.

The study says cancer cells in mice are fueled by taurine: “Taurine supplements could significantly accelerate disease progression in immunocompetent mice (around threefold higher likelihood of death… indicating that taurine can promote leukaemic progression.” 

In plain terms, the study found that cancer cells consume the taurine, which triggers glycolysis (breaking down glucose for energy), which then further fuels the cancer cells, according to a press release from the University of Rochester, which conducted the research.

Previously, taurine has been proven useful as a supplement in chemotherapy. One study in Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutic said, “Taurine supplementation could be a protection against chemotherapy-induced toxicities probably by its antioxidant capacity.”  

Stock image of the tops of energy drinks.

Getty


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This has prompted the researchers to add a caveat regarding energy drinks.

“As taurine is a common ingredient in energy drinks, and is often provided as a supplement to mitigate the side-effects of chemotherapy our work suggests that it may be of interest to carefully consider the benefits of supplemental taurine in patients with leukaemia,” researchers wrote in Nature.



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National Guard helicopter crew landed on Montana ranch and trespassed to take antlers, citations say

Justin M. Larson
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National Guard helicopter crew landed on Montana ranch and trespassed to take antlers, citations say


BILLINGS, Mont. — Three Montana Army National Guard members face trespassing charges after authorities said they landed a Black Hawk helicopter in a mountain pasture on a private ranch to take several elk antlers before flying away.

A witness saw the May 4 landing and the person who owns the property reported it to officials, who tracked down the three guard members, Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg said Thursday.

The guardsmen were flying out of a base in Helena. They landed only briefly to pick up two individual antlers and an old elk skull with antlers still attached, the sheriff said.

Elk antlers — which grow and drop off male animals annually — are highly prized and can be sold by the pound. They also are collected from the wild as keepsakes.

The antlers and skull taken by the guardsmen were worth a combined $300 to $400, according to Ronneberg. They were later turned over to a state game warden.

The guardsmen face fines of up $500 each, up to six months in jail or both. They are due to appear in justice court on May 28.

Trespassers taking antlers from private land is not uncommon in Montana and other western states.

“This an odd one,” Ronneberg said. “Usually somebody parks on the side of the road and crosses into private ground and picks up a shed,” he said, referring to an antler that’s been shed by an elk.

Citations issued to two of the guardsmen said they “entered posted private property that was posted as trespassing for the purpose of elk antler removal.” The citation for the third again mentioned trespassing and also that “subject landed military helicopter on private property.”

The Sweet Grass County Attorney and Sheriff’s Office are considering additional charges related to the taking of the antlers themselves but no decision has been made, Ronneberg said. He said those discussions center on whether the antlers were the property of the landowners.

Taking antlers from state-owned land is legal in Montana for people with an $8 state conservation license, said Greg Lemon with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Montana National Guard Adjutant General J. Peter Hronek said in a statement he was aware of the case and it was being investigated.

“Appropriate adverse and/or administrative action will take place if the allegations are determined to be true,” Hronek said. “Misuse of military equipment erodes the trust we strive to uphold with the people of Montana.”



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Gaza doctor says lack of food and aid has led to “catastrophic” situation

Justin M. Larson
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Gaza doctor says lack of food and aid has led to “catastrophic” situation




Gaza doctor says lack of food and aid has led to “catastrophic” situation – CBS News








































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More than 120 people in the Gaza Strip were reportedly killed in another round of Israeli air strikes. It comes as Israel’s aid blockade enters its third month. The United Nations warns that one in five of Gaza’s two million residents face starvation.

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FEMA “not ready” for hurricane season, internal review says

Justin M. Larson
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FEMA “not ready” for hurricane season, internal review says


The Federal Emergency Management Agency is “not ready” for hurricane season in June, according to an internal review obtained by CBS News— as FEMA contends with staff cuts and a push by President Trump to eliminate the nation’s disaster relief agency.

The powerpoint presentation was created after FEMA’s new acting leader, David Richardson, ordered the agency to review hurricane preparedness, with storm season roughly two weeks away. In a series of slides, dated May 12, FEMA identified apparent problems at the disaster relief agency, including a need to “refocus on its core mission while preparing for the 2025 Hurricane Season.”

“As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood, thus FEMA is not ready,” said one of the slides. 

Elsewhere in the presentation, it says most of FEMA’s readiness process for hurricane season “has been derailed this year due to other activities like staffing and contracts” — an apparent reference to layoffs of probationary workers and sweeping changes to FEMA’s contract workforce.

“It has not been normal hurricane season preparedness yet,” the slides read.

CNN was first to report on the internal document.

CBS News has reached out to DHS, which oversees FEMA, for comment. In a statement to CNN, the agency called the story “grossly out of context” and said it is “fully activated in preparation for Hurricane Season.”

“The slide was used during a daily meeting Acting Administrator David Richardson has held every day titled Hurricane Readiness Complex Problem Solving. In other words, exactly what the head of an emergency management agency should be doing before Hurricane Season,” a DHS spokesperson’s statement to CNN read. 

In a 30-minute town hall meeting with staff Thursday, Richardson would not say whether the agency is ready for hurricane season when asked, according to multiple FEMA employees. Richardson, who has been on the job for less than a week, responded that he’s still working on it and should have a better idea within a couple of weeks. 

The official start of Atlantic hurricane season is June 1. 

The internal presentation also cites “culture issues,” staffing shortages and challenges coordinating with other federal agencies.

Parts of the document seem to reference Mr. Trump’s plan to shift more emergency response duties to the states. The slides say there’s a perception that state officials are “passing [the] buck” to FEMA, and cite the need for “managing expectations and understanding what FEMA’s role is” — suggesting the federal agency should offer “supplemental assistance” in some cases.

During Thursday’s town hall, Richardson cited California and Texas as examples of states that are capable of responding to their own natural disasters, multiple FEMA employees said. The comment raised eyebrows among several FEMA staff members who deployed to Texas’ deadly winter cold snap in February 2021, causing hundreds of thousands to lose power. 

FEMA has faced a turbulent few months as it prepares for the Atlantic hurricane season. Mr. Trump has criticized the agency’s handling of prior natural disasters, and has floated either scrapping FEMA or transforming it into a “support agency” that largely defers to the states.

The agency laid off hundreds of probationary employees earlier this year. And in March, the agency indicated a large share of its workforce would be required to apply for contract extensions through the Department of Homeland Security. The move could impact more than half of FEMA’s workers, CBS News has previously reported.

The agency’s former acting head, Cameron Hamilton, was fired by the Trump administration last week and replaced by Richardson after Hamilton told lawmakers he doesn’t believe eliminating FEMA is in the country’s “best interests” — clashing with Mr. Trump’s views.

In his first all-hands meeting last week, Richardson told staff, “Don’t get in my way… I will run right over you,” according to a recording obtained by CBS News.

Richardson, a former Marine who attained the rank of lieutenant colonel, backed Mr. Trump’s plan to shrink FEMA, and said he plans on looking for ways to “push things down to the states” and “do more cost sharing with the states.”

“I am as bent on achieving the President’s intent as I was on making sure that I did my duty, where I took my Marines to Iraq, eleven of them,” he said at last week’s meeting.

Michael Kaplan

Michael Kaplan is an award-winning reporter and producer for the CBS News investigative unit. He specializes in securing scoops and crafting long-form television investigations. His work has appeared on “60 Minutes,” CNN and in The New York Times.



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Irritated Mitchell Starc’s shocking ‘go away’ moment with fan at airport – WATCH | Cricket News

Justin M. Larson
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Irritated Mitchell Starc’s shocking ‘go away’ moment with fan at airport – WATCH | Cricket News



Walmart can absorb tariffs, fmr. U.S. CEO Simon questions price hikes

Justin M. Larson
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Walmart can absorb tariffs, fmr. U.S. CEO Simon questions price hikes


Walmart is best poised to weather the tariffs, says former Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon

Walmart‘s business is strong enough to withstand tariff headwinds without increasing its prices, according to the discount retailer’s former U.S. CEO.

Bill Simon, who ran Walmart U.S. from 2010 to 2014, suggests the company may be overstating challenges tied to tariffs.

“If you look down deep and dig into the details of their earnings release today, you know this quarter they grew their gross profit margin in the U.S. business 25 basis points. So, they’re expanding their margin. They also reported their general merchandise categories were flattish because they had mid-single digit price deflation,” he told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Thursday, the day Walmart reported fiscal first-quarter results. “That sort of gives them room in my view to manage any tariff impact that they would have.”

Simon is optimistic consumers can largely handle price increases — citing a steady jobs market and cheaper fuel prices this year. But he notes worrisome commentary from corporate executives could be chipping away at consumer confidence.

“All the doom and gloom we hear about price increases and tariffs like we heard from my friends at Walmart today, I think it scares them some,” said Simon, who’s now on the Darden Restaurants board and is the chairman at Hanesbrands.

Walmart shares fell 0.5% on Thursday, but the stock closed above session lows. Shares are off almost 9% from the all-time high of $105.30 hit on Feb. 14.

On Feb. 20, Simon joined “Fast Money” as Walmart shares were wrapping up their worst week since May 2022 on tariff jitters. He suggested the stock was a steal for investors even though Walmart warned profits were slowing.

As of Thursday’s close, Walmart shares are positive for the year, up more than 6% in 2025. The stock has climbed more than 7% since President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement on April 2.

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Infant becomes world’s first patient to undergo personalized gene-editing treatment

Justin M. Larson
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Infant becomes world’s first patient to undergo personalized gene-editing treatment


Philadelphia — Soon after KJ Muldoon was born in the summer of 2024, he was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that is fatal for about half the infants who are born with it. 

Until now, the only effective long-term treatment for the rare metabolic disease known as severe Carbamoyl Phosphate Synthetase 1 deficiency, or CPS1, had been a liver transplant.

Instead, doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia told KJ’s family they could try something never done before. They would use a technology known as CRISPR, a personalized gene-editing therapy, to find the one uniquely mutated gene out of 20,000 in his little body, and fix it.

KJ subsequently received three infusions of the experimental therapy to his liver earlier this year under treatment by a medical team at the hospital and Penn Medicine. 

He became the first known patient in the world to be treated using CRISPR personalized just for him, according to a news release from Penn Medicine. His case was published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

He has so far shown no serious side effects to the treatment, Penn Medicine said. He is still in the hospital, gaining weight and thriving. He will turn 1 in August. 

“While KJ will need to be monitored carefully for the rest of his life, our initial findings are quite promising,” Dr. Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, director of the Gene Therapy for Inherited Metabolic Disorders Frontier Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a statement.

“Now, when I get to hold him, and he’s laughing and jumping around, that is…very heartwarming, because I didn’t know if that was going to happen, at one point,” his mother, Nicole Muldoon, told CBS News in an interview over Zoom Thursday. 

According to Penn Medicine, CRISPR — which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats — can “precisely correct disease-causing variants in the human genome.” The researchers cautioned that although personalized CRISPR treatment is in its early days, the technology could potentially one day serve to address other rare genetic disorders.  

“This is mind-blowing and we should all be very, very excited,” said Dr. Brian Brown, a bioengineer and immunologist who serves as director of the Icahn Genomics Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. 

“We are at day one of, you know, the future of how we are going to treat different diseases,” Brown said. “…We may have, potentially, treatments for horrible diseases children may be born with.”

Jon LaPook

Jon LaPook, M.D. is the award-winning chief medical correspondent for CBS News. Since joining CBS News in 2006, LaPook has delivered more than 1,200 reports on a wide variety of breaking news and trending stories in the health and medical fields, as well as feature stories on music, lifestyle and profiles of entertainment stars.



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