New Delhi: A group of researchers from Sweden has found blood-based biomarkers linked to long Covid symptoms, especially those involving serious respiratory issues.
Long Covid is marked by lingering symptoms such as severe shortness of breath and fatigue following infection with the
SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Scientists at the Karolinska Institutet identified specific proteins in the blood of individuals affected by long Covid. This discovery could lead to improved methods for diagnosing and treating the condition in the future.
"The proteins were mainly found in patients with long Covid and severe respiratory problems," said Marcus Buggert, docent at the Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.
"This is a biomarker pattern that we know to be linked to inflammatory signal pathways involved in cell death and lung damage and that has also been observed in other patient groups with severe pulmonary disorders," he added.
For the study, the researchers examined blood samples from 265 individuals in Sweden and the UK who were infected with Covid-19 before vaccines became available.
By applying advanced analytical methods, they assessed thousands of proteins in the patients' blood plasma and linked them to reported symptoms.
The findings, published in Nature Immunology, revealed key biological mechanisms that may explain why some individuals continue to suffer from severe symptoms long after recovering from their initial Covid-19 infection.
"By identifying the proteins that are elevated in affected patients, we're creating a platform from which to develop diagnostic tools and new targeted therapies," Dr. Buggert said. "This is especially important since there are no specific biomarkers and treatments for long Covid."
The researchers now plan to investigate lung and gastrointestinal tissues to gain deeper insight into the mechanisms behind these patterns.
They hope this will help pinpoint the origin of the identified proteins and determine whether ongoing inflammation or tissue damage persists in specific organs of individuals with long Covid.
