Summary: A study found that long COVID symptoms were twice as likely to include frequent SARS-CoV-2 proteins in the body, suggesting that some ongoing symptoms may be brought on by a persistent viral tank. Researchers looked at blood samples from 706 people and discovered that 43 % of those who had multisystem long COVID symptoms had viral proteins months post-infection, compared to 21 % of those who had no symptoms.
This finding provides some insight into possible advantages of antiviral treatments for those with continual symptoms. The study also found that not all long COVID cases display consistent popular proteins, which suggests that other factors may be to blame for this complicated issue.
Important Information:
- 43 % of people who had multisystem long COVID symptoms had frequent popular protein.
- 21 % of those who had no long COVID symptoms tested positive for popular protein.
- Results suggest long COVID does have many causes, potentially including defense dysfunction.
Origin: Harvard
Researchers found persons with wide-ranging much COVID symptoms were twice as likely to include SARS-CoV-2 protein in their body, compared to those without long COVID symptoms, according to a study out of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Commonly reported long COVID symptoms included fatigue, brain fog, muscle pain, joint pain, back pain, headache, sleep disruption, decline of smell or taste, and gastric symptoms.
Results , are published in , Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
Specifically,  , the group found that 43 percentage of those with long COVID symptoms affecting three big networks in the body, including respiratory, orthopedic, and neurodegenerative techniques, tested positive for popular proteins within 1 to 14 months of their good COVID test.
However, only 21 % of those who did n’t experience long COVID symptoms during this time tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 biomarkers.
In the Department of Pathology at BWH, lead author Zoe Swank, a doctoral research fellow, said,” If we can identify a subset of people who have persistent virus signs because of a dam of virus in the body, we may be able to handle them with antiretrovirals to alleviate their signs.”
The study analyzed 1, 569 blood samples collected from 706 people, including 392 participants from the National Institutes of Health-supported Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery ( RECOVER ) Initiative,  , who had previously tested positive for a COVID infection.
Using Simoa, an ultrasensitive test for detecting single molecules, researchers looked for whole and partial proteins from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Utilizing electronic medical chart data or surveys that were collected at the same time as the blood samples were taken, they also analyzed data from the participants ‘ long COVID symptoms.
Some of the long-term COVID sufferers ‘ symptoms may be explained by a persistent infection, but not all of them. If so, testing and treatment might be able to identify patients who might benefit from antiviral treatments.
a condition that has more than one cause
Why more than half of patients with broad-ranging long COVID symptoms tested negative for persistent viral proteins is one of the questions raised by the study.
This finding points to the possibility that there is likely more than one cause of long COVID, according to David Walt, a professor of pathology at BWH and lead investigator in the study. ” The virus may harm the immune system, which could lead to continued immune dysfunction after the virus is removed, which may be one of the possible causes of long-COVID symptoms,” he said.
To better understand whether an ongoing infection is behind some people’s long COVID symptoms, Swank, Walt, and other researchers are currently conducting follow-up studies.
They are examining blood samples and symptom data from wider groups of patients, including those who have compromised immune systems and who are of diverse ages. In this way, they can also determine whether some individuals are more likely to have a persistent virus in their bodies.
” There is still a lot that we do n’t know about how this virus affects people”, said , David C. Goff,  , a senior scientific program director for the RECOVER Observational Consortium Steering Committee and director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute ( NHLBI ), part of NIH.
” These kinds of studies are crucial to helping investigators understand the mechanisms underlying long COVID,” according to the authors. This will help us identify the appropriate treatment targets.
Goff continued,” These results support ongoing efforts to study antiviral treatments.”  ,  ,
The SARS-CoV-2 blood test developed by Brigham and Women’s researchers is also currently being used in a national study, called RECOVER-VITAL, that is testing whether an antiviral drug helps patients recover from long COVID.
Before and after receiving an antiviral, the RECOVER-VITAL trial will determine whether treatment removes persistent viral proteins from the blood.
The idea that a virus can persist in the body for months and still show symptoms after an infection is not unique to COVID.
” Other viruses are associated with similar post-acute syndromes”, said Swank. She noted that post-infection illnesses associated with Ebola and Zika proteins have also been linked to post-infection illnesses in animal studies.
Funding: Funding for this work came from the National Institutes of Health ( NIH) and Barbara and Amos Hostetter.
About this Long-COVID research news
Author: BWH Communications
Source: Harvard
Contact: BWH Communications – Harvard
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
” Measurement of circulating viral antigens post-SARS-CoV-2 infection in a multicohort study” by David Walt et al. Clinical Microbiology and Infection
Abstract
Measurement of circulating viral antigens post-SARS-CoV-2 infection in a multicohort study
Objectives
To find out how many people have COVID-19 ( PASC ) symptoms that can be detected in plasma or serum after receiving SARS-CoV-2 infection and how their antigen detection is related to postacute sequelae.
Methods
Plasma and serum samples were collected from adults participating in four independent studies at different time points, ranging from several days up to 14 , months post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary outcome measure was to quantify SARS-CoV-2 antigens, including the S1 subunit of spike, full-length spike, and nucleocapsid, in participant samples. Participant surveys or chart reviews of electronic health records were used to determine the presence of 34 commonly reported PASC symptoms during the postacute period.
Results
Of the 1569 samples analysed from 706 individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, 21 % (95 % CI, 18–24 % ) were positive for either S1, spike, or nucleocapsid. Spike was predominantly detected, and the highest proportion of samples was spike positive ( 20 %, 95 % CI, 18–22 % ) between 4 and 7 , months postinfection. In total, 578 participants ( 82 % ) reported at least one of the 34 PASC symptoms included in our analysis ≥1 , month postinfection.
Cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, and neurologic symptoms had the highest reported prevalence in over half of all participants, and among those participants, 43 % (95 % CI, 40–45 % ) on average were antigen-positive. Antigen was found in 28 participants ( 21 % ) compared to the participants who reported no ongoing symptoms ( 28 % ) and 18 % ). The presence of antigen was associated with the presence of one or more PASC symptoms, adjusting for sex, age, time postinfection, and cohort ( OR, 1.8, 95 % CI, 1.4–2.2 ).
Discussion
This multicohort study found that a sizable portion of people up to the age of 14 can be found carrying SARS-CoV-2 antigens in their blood months after infection. While approximately one in five asymptomatic individuals was antigen-positive, roughly half of all individuals reporting ongoing cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, and neurologic symptoms were antigen-positive.
