NBC News (9/25, Edwards) reports “scientists have found clear differences in the blood of people with long COVID – a key first step in the development of a test to diagnose the illness.” The findings of the research published in Nature “also offer clues into what could be causing the elusive condition.” The researchers “compared blood samples of 268 people.” Some of those people had COVID-19 “but had fully recovered, some had never been infected, and the rest had ongoing symptoms of long COVID at least four months after their infection.” A number of “differences in the blood of people with long COVID stood out from the other groups.”
CNN (9/25, Goodman) reports that a second study “used magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, to scan 259 people who’d been hospitalized with COVID-19.” The researchers “compared their scans with those of 52 people who’d never had COVID-19.” According to CNN, “after an average of five months after discharge, researchers found evidence of damage to the lungs, brain or kidneys of 1 out of 3 people who’d been hospitalized with COVID-19.” The findings were published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Together, CNN says, the two “studies are providing insights about the biology behind long COVID and, if reproduced, could point to potential biomarkers for” long COVID.
Related Links:
— “A blood test for long Covid is possible, a study suggests,”Erika Edwards, NBC News , September 25, 2023