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https://www.sciencealert.com/covids-hidden-toll-full-body-scans-reveal-long-term-immune-effects>
'Long COVID is a brutal illness without a known mechanism or cure. Far from
being psychosomatic in nature, a new study adds weight to the idea that this
misunderstood disease is very much biological.
The lingering toll the SARS-CoV-2 virus exacts on the immune system is
widespread and hiding in plain sight, argue researchers at the University of
California, San Francisco, CellSight Technologies, and Kaiser Permanente South
San Francisco Medical Center.
When 24 patients who had recovered from COVID-19 had their whole bodies scanned
by a PET (positron emission tomography) imaging test, their insides lit up like
Christmas trees.
A radioactive drug called a tracer revealed abnormal T cell activity in the
brain stem, spinal cord, bone marrow, nose, throat, some lymph nodes, heart and
lung tissue, and the wall of the gut, compared to whole-body scans from before
the pandemic.
This widespread effect was apparent in the 18 participants with long COVID
symptoms and the six participants who had fully recovered from the acute phase
of COVID-19.
The activation of immune T cells in some tissues, like the spinal cord and the
gut wall, was higher in patients who reported long COVID symptoms compared to
those who made a complete recovery. Participants with ongoing respiratory
issues also showed increased uptake of the PET tracer in their lungs and
pulmonary artery walls.
That said, even those who recovered fully from COVID-19 still showed persistent
changes to their T cell activity in numerous organs compared to pre- pandemic
controls, in some cases two and a half years after they first contracted the
virus.
"In some individuals, this activity may persist for years following initial
COVID-19 onset and be associated with systemic changes in immune activation as
well as the presence of [long COVID] symptoms," researchers at UCSF conclude.
"Together, these observations suggest that even clinically mild infection could
have long-term consequences on tissue-based immune homeostasis and potentially
result in an active viral reservoir in deeper tissues."'
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
