Swiss scientists have identified immune system abnormalities in patients with long COVID that might open the door to new diagnostic tests and treatments.
The researchers found that a group of proteins in the blood that are part of the body's immune response called the "complement system" are not working properly in patients with long COVID.
Blood samples turned up important differences between those who recovered from COVID and those who did not. These differences might be used as biomarkers to diagnose long COVID and might even point the way to new treatments for the condition, the researchers said.
By testing for 6500 blood proteins in about 300 patients, the Swiss researchers found that dysfunctional complement system proteins could possibly explain fatigue and "smoldering inflammation," said Onur Boyman, MD, a professor of immunology from University Hospital Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland.
Long COVID has been linked to hundreds of symptoms including brain fog, chronic fatigue, pain, and digestive issues. Various factors drive the condition and likely work with one another other, said David Putrino, PhD, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. The Swiss study is useful because "we're trying to best understand how we can explain all of this far-reaching pathobiology," he said.
.... The complement system also plays a role in clearing the body of dead cells. If the cells "lie around too much," they can trigger an immune response, he said.
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https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/study-ids-immune-abnormality-possibly-causing-long-covid-2024a10003iu?ecd=mkm_ret_240229_mscpmrk_pcp_covid_etid6341999&uac=234181DY&impID=6341999
