A Swiss study shows dysregulation of the immune system in patients

The results of a study by Swiss researchers show that the blood of patients with prolonged covid has tissue damage as well as damage to their red blood cells and platelets.

While many have moved on from Covid-19, some still suffer from symptoms associated with the virus, months after contracting it. According to WHO statistics, they represent 10 to 20% of people affected by the disease. The results of the study published this Friday, January 19 by Swiss researchers in the journal Science

This can improve disease diagnosis and management of patients.

Analyzing the blood of 113 people with Covid-19, of whom 40 were affected by persistent symptoms and 39 healthy people, the researchers found changes in proteins present in the blood of patients with prolonged Covid due to ‘increased complement activation’. . The latter is part of the immune system and helps fight infection.

“In patients with prolonged Covid, the complement system does not return to a resting state as it should,” Onur Boymann, director of the immunology clinic at the University Hospital of Zurich and responsible for the study, explained to the Swiss press agency Keystone. ATS cited by Le Temps.

“One piece of the puzzle” discovered

As a result, these patients had numerous tissue damage, impaired coagulation, or even damage to their red blood cells and platelets in the blood. In fact, the complement system being active “attacks healthy cells in various organs and damages or destroys them”, commented the researcher.

“With this discovery, we have found another piece of the long Covid puzzle, which also explains why the disease can cause such a variety of symptoms,” added Onur Boyman.

Basis for better diagnosis?

For the researchers behind the study, these results could serve as “the basis for new diagnostic solutions” for chronic Covid that have so far been difficult to identify and “illuminate treatment directions”.

But the process used for these analyzes is complex and cannot be used in all hospitals, the immunologist explained to the newspaper.

If the symptoms of Kovid-19 persist, it is advisable to consult a doctor. If there is no treatment for prolonged covid, there is treatment for its symptoms, which may include respiratory rehabilitation or progressive retraining for exercise, the health insurer recalls.

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