Haywire immune system
Well, the pursuit of blood clots and viral fragments continues, and here comes the third track that’s both intersecting with these themes and making its own inroads at the same time: the immune system, which a couple of researchers believe might help bind together different viewpoints.
One idea would be that some COVID-19 patients have their immune systems revved up and destabilized by the virus attack, and they might be unable to reset themselves to idle. In order to prove that, Phetsouphanh and his colleagues collected blood from 31 long-term COVID patients who suffered fatigue symptoms and other common symptoms three months after the infection, analyzing dozens of immune markers.
As Phetsouphanh confirmed, they were uncertain of the results, but what they discovered baffled them. As it turns out, long-term COVID patients still had an immune system on constant high alert.
White blood cells that normally recruit other cells to sites of infection were much more activated, which could explain why the patients’ levels of interferons were very high even eight months after the infection.
They also spotted a dearth of inactivated T cells and B cells in patients, cells that normally “shout” awaiting instruction to counter pathogens. Altogether, this signaled chronic inflammation, which then caused a series of health problems.
There’s more to it, and I would like for you to be fully informed; that’s why I strongly recommend you read Unraveling Long COVID by Don Goldenberg and Marc Dichter. You will read some in-depth conversations about COVID’s mechanisms and potential treatments. Also, we have other interesting articles that you might want to try: 11 Unexpected Things That Could Be Behind Your Muscle Pain
