long covid patients could develop life-long autoimmune diseases like lupus: mcmaster study
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while the experts continue to work towards figuring out effective treatments for long covid, vaccinations are still encouraged. getty
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fatigue, shortness of breath and brain fog are symptoms that often stay with people who’ve contracted covid-19. but that’s not the worst.
new research led by mcmaster university in hamilton, ontario shows that patients with long-term effects of the virus could also be at risk of developing autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, cbc news reports.
autoimmune disease happens when your body’s immune system can’t distinguish between your own cells and foreign cells, causing your body to attack normal cells by mistake.
for the study, published in the european respiratory journal in august, researchers looked at blood samples from patients who were diagnosed with the virus between august 2020 and september 2021 and treated in hamilton and vancouver hospitals. they discovered that about 30 per cent of patients a full year after they became infected were carrying two abnormal antibodies that are known to target healthy tissues and cause autoimmune disease.
watch for fatigue and breathlessness
lead researcher manali mukherjee told cbc that the persistence of these abnormal antibodies flags the need for patients to get tested for autoimmune diseases — that includes multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes.
during the research project, mukherjee was diagnosed with covid-19 and recalls the debilitating symptoms. “the headaches used to be so bad, and it relapses,” she told cbc. “you’ll be fine, and then suddenly, you relapse.”
her energy is still depleted, so she’s made her health a priority with fewer working hours and adequate sleep.
her team is now investigating the outcome of long covid patients over two years with a focus on the changing levels of abnormal antibodies.
still so many unknowns
“although long covid is now recognized by bodies like the world health organization, we still know very little about why it develops or how we can help patients,” mukherjee said in a story by the jerusalem post.
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part of the uncertainty stems from the fact that the biology of long covid isn’t uniform, according to science insider, but the “level of consistency is great” among recent studies, says james heath, president of the institute for systems biology, and one of the authors of a u.s. study demonstrating that abnormal antibodies in covid-19 patients can lead to long-term symptoms.
and while the experts continue to work towards figuring out effective treatments for long covid, vaccinations are still encouraged, especially for people over the age of 60, indigenous peoples of all ages, people with compromised immunity and those who work with high-risk and vulnerable individuals, cbc reports.
karen hawthorne is a toronto-based writer.
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