Scientists say they have detected irregularities in the blood of long Covid patients that could one day pave the way for a test for the condition.
Imperial College London researchers found a pattern of rogue antibodies in the blood of a small number of people with long Covid.
They hope it could lead to a simple blood test within six to 18 months.
Dr Elaine Maxwell, from the National Institute of Health Research, said the early findings were “exciting”.
She said there could be “a number of different things happening after a Covid-19 infection” and an autoimmune response “has been one of the suspected mechanisms”.
But she warned that long Covid was a “complex condition”, saying it was important to continue to research the other causal factors so all different types of post-Covid syndrome could be diagnosed and treated.
Long Covid is not yet fully understood and can cover a range of symptoms lasting long after initial infection including fatigue, breathlessness, headaches and muscle pain.
There are currently no tests to diagnose long Covid.
Prof Danny Altmann, who is leading the research team at Imperial, said he believes the work will lead to a test which could be done in a doctor’s surgery.
But amid rising cases Prof Altmann warned that it is not yet known if vaccinations will protect people from long-term symptoms.
“If we’re heading into a phase of 100,000 cases per day, and, we’re saying that 10-20% of all infections can result in long Covid, I can see no certainty that we’re not brewing those long Covid cases despite having a vaccinated population,” he said.
‘Very exciting’
In the pilot study, researchers compared the blood of dozens of people and found what are called autoantibodies that were not present in people who recovered quickly, or those who have not had Covid-19.
Normally, human immune systems create antibodies to fight disease. But sometimes the body turns on itself – creating the autoantibodies that attack healthy cells.
Prof Altmann believes these autoantibodies may be one of the things causing long Covid symptoms.
He said it is also possible that some people still have the virus “persisting” in their bodies, while others may have other problems with their immune systems.
The research is still at an initial stage, meaning the research was done on a small sample size which can be scaled up later.
Prof Altmann warned that the findings cannot yet be described as a breakthrough, but said they were “a very exciting advancement”.
An estimated 962,000 people in the UK had long Covid in the four weeks up to 4 June, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
And around 385,000 people in the UK are estimated to have been suffering with symptoms for more than a year.
Long Covid can affect people of all ages, including children and people who were previously fit and healthy, as well as those who only experienced mild coronavirus symptoms at first.
Article taken in part from www.bbc.co.uk By BBC Panorama
Reporting team
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