Work carried out by the Mount Sinai and Yale schools of medicine proves that long Covid is a disease with blood biomarkers that can predict who has it.
- Long Covid patients have distinct differences in their immune and hormonal function, according to new research.
- The researchers were thus able to highlight biomarkers specific to long Covid in the blood of patients.
- This discovery should facilitate the diagnosis of patients or the development of treatments for long Covid.
Long Covid patients have distinct differences in immune and hormonal function, which can be spotted in a test of their blood. Published in the journal Naturethis research, carried out by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Yale School of Medicine (USA), is the first to identify specific biomarkers that can accurately identify patients affected by the complication.
Long Covid: specific biomarkers in blood
The researchers made this discovery after analyzing the files of 271 volunteers. Some had never been infected with SARS-CoV-2, others had had Covid-19 and were completely recovered while the last showed symptoms of Covid long after infection.
Each participant was asked to complete questionnaires about their symptoms, medical history and health. Blood samples were also taken and analyzed. An artificial intelligence studied all the results to identify the differences between the groups. It highlighted that Covid patients presented specific immune and hormonal dysfunctions.
The latter had biomarkers in their blood indicating abnormal activity of T lymphocytes, the reactivation of several latent viruses (including virusEpstein-Barr and other herpes viruses) and significant reductions in cortisol levels.
“Overall, the algorithm was able to differentiate between people with and without long Covid with 96% accuracy and detect the disease based on the distinctive features detected in the blood of participants in the long Covid group”specifies communicated.
Long Covid: a disease that can be diagnosed
The results of this study could pave the way for more sensitive tests and personalized treatments for Covid patients long.
“These results are important: they can help develop more tests sensitive for patients with long Covid and personalized treatments for this disease Whountil now, had no proven scientific justification”, explains lead researcher David Putrino.
The expert adds that the results show that ““People with long Covid live with a disease process that is observable using the blood testing protocols presented in the study, but which also varies from patient to patient based on their specific medical history.”
