Australian scientists identify 5 biomarkers of ‘long’ COVID-19

Australian immunologists have identified five blood biomarkers that can be used to diagnose “long-term” COVID-19 with a high probability. To do this, the scientists compared the levels of 31 proteins in the blood of people with the disease, as well as those who did not have COVID or had coronavirus without long-term consequences. Research results published в Nature Immunology.

Sometimes patients pass a negative test for coronavirus, but their condition does not improve. They still feel tired, headache, shortness of breath, “fog in the head.” Many of those who have been ill also complain of mental problems. “I spent three months in the hospital and it’s amazing that I survived at all,” told The Insider is a resident of the Murmansk region. – And when I returned home, I literally learned to walk again – due to the lack of physical activity during the hospitalization, my muscles atrophied. Everything was like a fog. At first, familiar symptoms persisted, but then new ones were added – panic attacks, irritability, aggression, lethargy, problems with the cardiovascular system, which were not there before. In addition, the pulse constantly quickened, anxiety grew, concentration was completely absent – and most importantly, memory suffered unusually.

According to data from different countries, people whose condition has not returned to normal after 2-3 weeks after the disease, there are from 35% (in the USA) to 70% (in the UK).

At the moment, most experts adhere to the autoimmune theory of the “long” Covid. According to her, the virus triggers the formation of antibodies against body tissues, writes N+1.

Australian immunologists, led by Gale Matthews from the University of New South Wales, measured the level of 31 protein markers in the blood of people with Long-COVID (31 people) and compared the obtained values ​​with the level of these proteins in the blood of people who did not have covid (46 people). In addition, the analysis included patients who had been infected with other coronaviruses (25 people) and recovered from covid, but did not experience long-term consequences of the infection (31 people). Eight months have passed since the detection of coronavirus (in patients who underwent it) at the time they were included in the work.

Immunologists were able to isolate five proteins, the increase in the level of which was associated with Long-COVID. Among them were interferons beta, gamma and lambda, interleukin-6, as well as the protein of the acute phase of inflammation PTX3.

Knowing the molecular basis of the “long” COVID, scientists hope to develop a specific treatment in the future.