Boston Study Finds SARS-CoV-2 Spike Persists with Long COVID

Recent research led by scientists from Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital sought to better understand long COVID. Also known as &ldquo;Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2&rdquo; or PASC, the condition can impact up to 30% of COVID-19 cases and involves ongoing or recurring symptoms for a month or more after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. The researchers point out that while some clues as to the underlying etiology (cause of disease) of long COVID exist, these are hypotheses. Complicating the research is a &ldquo;lack of mechanistic clarity&rdquo; in defining long COVID patients, partly the result of &ldquo;the heterogeneity of patient recruitment and inconsistencies.&rdquo; This compounds the challenge of integrating study results and thus research breakthroughs. According to the Boston area-based investigators, &ldquo;Disentangling the complex biology of PASC will rely on the identification of biomarkers&rdquo; enabling the classification of patient phenotypes (observational characteristics or traits of an organism). In a lab-based investigation, the study team analyzes the levels of COVID-19 antigens and cytokines in plasma samples collected from PASC and COVID-19 patients with the goal of finding a biomarker prevalent in PASC patients.&nbsp;
The Study