“Several factors prompted Iwasaki’s team to zero in on autoimmunity as one of Long COVID’s drivers. First, there was the persistent nature of the condition. “This suggested to us that there is some chronic triggering of an immune response that is pathogenic,” she says.
Second, women between the ages of 30 and 50 are among the most susceptible to Long COVID. Women in this age group also face a greater risk of autoimmune diseases in general. Finally, in earlier research, Iwasaki’s team detected significant levels of autoantibodies in individuals who were infected with SARS-CoV-2. “All of these things were pointing to the possibility of autoimmune responses being one of the triggers of Long COVID,” Iwasaki says.”
“In their latest study, Iwasaki’s team analyzed blood samples from patients in the Mount Sinai-Yale Long COVID study. This cohort of over 215 Long COVID patients is part of a collaboration between Iwasaki and David Putrino, PhD, professor in the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. As part of this joint effort, Putrino’s clinic obtained blood samples from patients enrolled in the study. Iwasaki’s laboratory then purified antibodies from the blood and transferred them into healthy mice.
Next, the researchers led by Keyla Sá, a postdoctoral fellow in Iwasaki’s lab, conducted multiple behavioral experiments to look for Long COVID symptoms. While many of these experiments found no significant difference between the experimental and control mice, a few revealed striking changes in those that received antibodies.“
https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/new-evidence-supports-autoimmunity-as-one-of-long-covids-underlying-drivers/
= new reply since forum marked as read