Long COVID: Scientists find 20 blood protein ‘signatures’ that may point to risk

Med News Today – Researchers published their findings comparing blood samples from healthcare workers who had contracted SARS-CoV-2 and healthcare workers who had not. They found that blood protein levels within six weeks of contracting SARS-CoV-2 could predict long COVID incidence. “These changes in the blood that we observe shortly after infection indicate how the person’s immune system has handled the infection and may indicate a predisposition to developing persistent symptoms,” Dr. Wendy Heywood, senior research associate at University College London (UCL) Biological Mass Spectrometry Centre (BMSC), one of the study’s senior authors, told Medical News Today. The study, led by University College London researchers, was published in eBioMedicineTrusted Source, a part of The Lancet Discovery Science.