A new study published in the journal Science sheds light on the continuing effects of long-term COVID-19 infections, continuing to pose additional health concerns for some of the nation's 16 million patients. It has become clear that
Prolonged COVID-19 is a syndrome or collection of symptoms that persists or develops after an acute coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection and lasts for weeks, months, or years. There is no test to confirm whether symptoms are related to long-term coronavirus. Some scientists suggest that prolonged COVID-19 infections are caused by excess immune cells, but the exact cause remains unclear.
The study followed 113 patients with mild and severe COVID-19 infection in four different Swiss hospitals, 40 of whom had long-term symptoms of COVID-19 at six months; Twenty-two patients were found to have persistent symptoms at 12 months.
Researchers looked at blood samples from 40 people who had experienced symptoms of the coronavirus over a long period of time and compared them with controls who had not had the coronavirus. It was found that those who had had the disease had evidence of inflammation (increased complement activity) and dysregulation of blood cells (hemolysis). platelet activation) and tissue damage in the blood.
According to the researchers, the specific details of this small study could help provide “the basis for new diagnostic solutions” for this condition, which has no known or FDA-approved treatment. It is said that there is a sex.
Although these findings, which found evidence of inflammation in patients with long-term COVID-19 symptoms, are not entirely surprising or unique to long-term COVID-19, This is a step forward in identifying the cause.
But it's not just researchers studying the evolving understanding of this syndrome. Last week, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee convened a group of patients and experts to testify before a bipartisan group of senators about the long-term effects of the coronavirus. It attracted new attention.
In the first-ever Senate hearing on the issue, Sen. Tammy Baldwin said researchers and government officials need to have a “heightened sense of urgency” when it comes to understanding and treating the condition.
For the committee chairman, Sen. Bernie Sanders, more needs to be done.
“We still think we haven't done enough and we want to turn that around,” he said.
Medical experts testified at the hearing that the condition can occur in patients of all ages and backgrounds, that multiple infections increase the risk and that minority communities face longer-term susceptibility to COVID-19. told the committee that the rate was high.
“The burden of illness and disability from long-term COVID-19 infection is comparable to that of cancer and heart disease,” said Dr. Ziyad Al Ali, a clinical epidemiologist at the University of Washington. “We must develop sustainable solutions that are acceptable to the public to prevent repeated infections and long-term COVID-19 infections with SARS-CoV-2.”
patients and caregivers
Angela Meriquez Vasquez, a longtime coronavirus patient living in California, testified that she has helped more than 15,000 patients through online advocacy.
“We are living through the largest mass destabilizing event in modern history,” she told senators.
Meriquez Vazquez, a former runner, told his story that he is currently taking 12 different medications. She has managed to keep her job and she also has health insurance, but has been forced to work from her home lying down to minimize her symptoms. she said.
“Since the emergence of the AIDS pandemic, there has never been a more urgent need for major changes in health care, public health, and inequitable structures that pose extraordinary risks of illness, suffering, disability, and death,” Meriques said.・Mr. Basketball said.
One senator, Republican Roger Marshall, shared his own testimony and said one of his loved ones was “one of 16 million people” who had “suffered for two years” with the disease. This was made clear at the committee meeting.
He told the committee that his family's illness was “like mononucleosis, which cannot be cured,” adding that the person had seen 30 doctors for help.
Marshall said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention needs to put more emphasis on treating the long-term coronavirus.
“I'm frustrated that our CDC is focusing more on vaccines than treatments,” he said.
Epidemiologists and researchers also participated
During his testimony, Dr. Al-Aly repeatedly called on our country's leaders and medical professionals to come together to tackle the ongoing health crisis.
“We are the greatest nation on earth and we can solve this problem,” he said.
One solution he suggests is the creation of new multidisciplinary research institutes to address chronic diseases associated with infectious diseases.
Dr Charisse Madlock-Brown says research into the disease is “slowly overdue”. A University of Iowa professor said at the hearing. He called for further investment to identify proven treatments, noting that clinical trials were still at the stage of “experimental medicine.”
Sen. Tim Kaine said the National Institutes of Health has been provided more than $1 billion since 2020 for long-term COVID-19 research and urged NIH representatives to testify before the committee. did. In 2021, NIH launched the Novel Coronavirus Research to Enhance Recovery initiative to identify additional risk factors and causes of prolonged COVID-19.
“We can't afford to take two years just to 'get ready,'” he said.
According to the latest information from the CDC, long-term infection with COVID-19 can cause up to 200 symptoms, including chronic fatigue, blood clots, gastrointestinal problems, brain fog, and heart problems. Once infected with COVID-19, symptoms can last for months or years. Risk factors identified as long-term risk factors for developing COVID-19 after infection include severe COVID-19 infection and underlying medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, obesity, and autoimmune diseases). , including not having received the coronavirus vaccine.
Interest from the House of Lords and new research in Science are promising, but will help uncover the specific causes of why some people get COVID-19 and others don't, and provide effective treatments. More research is needed to find out.
Erin Hannon, MD, contributed to this report. Hannon is a pediatric resident at Columbia University/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
