Found a way to treat patients suffering from “long” COVID-19 patients

British scientists have found a link between proteins associated with blood clots and prolonged Covid. The discovery of biomarkers indicates that people suffering from brain fog and post-viral fatigue can be treated with anticoagulants.

Scientists have identified molecular signatures in the blood that are associated with brain fog, other cognitive problems and fatigue in patients diagnosed with Covid long after exposure to the virus.

The researchers found that elevated levels of two different proteins were more common in people who developed long-term symptoms of covid that affected their brains. Both are signs of blood clots in the body, a likely cause of the symptoms described.

The work, described by one independent expert as a “major step forward,” confirms the notion that arose at the height of the pandemic that COVID-19 leaves tiny blood clots in some patients in the lungs and possibly in the brain, leading to a wide range of health problems. long-term memory, concentration and thinking.

The findings could prove useful if clinical trials such as Stimulate-ICP, which is testing a range of treatments for long-term covid, conclude that anticoagulants may reduce brain fog and fatigue in some patients. Testing protein levels in patients’ blood could alert doctors to those who should be treated for early clots and those who are at lower risk.

Researchers studied blood proteins in more than 1,800 hospitalized Covid patients and found that at the time of infection, those who developed long-term cognitive problems were more likely than others to have elevated levels of a protein called fibrinogen, or a fragment of a protein called D-dimer.

A high level of fibrinogen is a sign of blood clots in the body. Patients can develop blood clots in the brain that cause cognitive problems, or fibrinogen itself can affect the brain, according to Max Tacke, author of the study from the University of Oxford.

Elevated levels of D-dimer also indicate blood clots in the body, but patients with high protein concentrations also tended to experience post-COVID fatigue and shortness of breath, leading researchers to suspect lung clots that could reduce blood flow to the brain as well. cause fatigue.

“People with elevated levels of D-dimer were not only more prone to brain fog, but also showed an increased risk of respiratory disease,” notes Max Take.

Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London and a leading expert on long covid, said: “This is an important step forward in our understanding of long Covid stratification and potentially some of its underlying mechanisms – they are arguing for a possible impact on path blood clotting.”

While a blood test for elevated protein levels can help doctors identify covid patients who are most likely to develop brain fog and other long-term symptoms of COVID, biomarkers will not identify all patients at risk.

“Real treatment is needed,” says Dr. Michael Zandi of the University of California Institute of Neurology. “The associations do not yet give us a clear universal mechanism, and first therapies must undergo rigorous clinical trials.”

The work, reported in Nature Medicine, comes after health officials in England raised concerns about a new, highly mutated variant of Covid that has been discovered in the UK and several other countries. “The UK has entered a period of very light mitigation with very limited introduction of accelerators,” notes Altmann. “Large studies are reminding us of the danger we face with this virus. During the period of “mild” Omicron infections, we registered more than 700,000 new long-term cases of Covid.”

Chris Brightling, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Leicester and co-author of the latest study, worries that patients with long-term Covid illness may not be getting the attention they need. “What I am still disappointed about is that there are still many suffering patients who have not fully recovered and we do not know how long it will take for them to recover and whether they will need treatment: “Now we are in a situation when Covid competes with all other health system needs, which means there is a risk that long-term Covid patients will not receive the attention they need because the disease is still not going away.”

Altman added: “Most patients feel like they have less and less support and little access to any treatment options.”