University of Alberta Three groundbreaking studies pinpoint immune cells and proteins linked with the lingering condition — and suggest a possible cause. Researchers at the University of Alberta have pinpointed two proteins that could serve as markers for identifying patients with long COVID — a discovery that may lead to treatments that will bring better quality of life for the millions of people suffering from the debilitating condition.
“We wanted to find out more about what is going on with long COVID to bring relief to sufferers — especially those patients with the most debilitating symptoms, a condition called chronic fatigue syndrome, which leads to extreme tiredness and other disabling symptoms,” says immunologist Shokrollah Elahi, a professor in the U of A’s Mike Petryk School of Dentistry, who led three groundbreaking studies aimed at improving our understanding of how long COVID develops and who may be susceptible.
Most people who get the SARS-CoV-2 infection feel sick for a week or two and then recover. But about 10 per cent end up with long-term complications that can linger for months or even years. Those complications can be wide-ranging and affect all kinds of organs, with symptoms including chronic fatigue, intense pain, trouble breathing, difficulty sleeping, cardiovascular issues and cognitive problems commonly called “brain fog.”