By Free Republic | Created at 2024-10-30 05:08:54 | Updated at 2024-10-30 07:22:57
2 hours ago
Studies pinpoint immune cells and proteins linked to long COVID
Medical Xpress / U of Alberta / Jrnl of Autoimmunity / Frontiers in Immunology / The Lancet Microbe ^ | Oct. 28, 2024 | Don Bell / Suguru Saito et al / Shokrollah Elahi et al / Amirhossein Rahmati et al
Posted on 10/29/2024 9:59:41 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Researchers have pinpointed two proteins that could serve as markers for identifying patients with long COVID.
Elahi and his team discovered that the long COVID group had higher levels of immune cells called neutrophils and monocytes that cause inflammation, and fewer protective lymphocytes.
In the blood of the long COVID patients, the team also found higher levels of various proteins related to systemic inflammation—especially galectin-9 and artemin.
Higher levels of galectin-9 in patients are associated with increased inflammation and brain fog. In the case of artemin, higher levels are associated with widespread pain, more severe pain and cognitive impairment.
They also found that long COVID dysregulates the production of red blood cells, which results in an abundance of immature red blood cells in the blood of these patients.
"I think that chronic inflammation in long COVID patients results in the elevation of these two proteins. At the earliest stage of disease, we know that some patients have gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea," he points out. "I think those individuals are more likely to develop long COVID."
The gastrointestinal problems result in damage to the intestinal tissues, along with gut leakiness. It means that if even small traces of microbes from the gut get into the bloodstream, it could result in chronic inflammation. The team found elevated levels of protein markers associated with gut leakiness in these patients.
That is actually good news, because these gut problems can be treated. "There are medications available that can be used for gut leakiness."
Elahi adds that his team discovered that some long COVID patients had a deficiency in two amino acids, sarcosine and serine, that have anti-inflammatory functions and neuroprotective effects. Both are available as food supplements that can be purchased.
"Some patients who have taken them have claimed signs of improvement."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
TOPICS: Health/Medicine
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Gut leakiness is similar to IBD, Crohn’s, or colitis. I have posted studies on these and improving the gut lining.
Additionally, sarcosine and serine are available in supplements at health-food stores and Amazon.
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2 posted on 10/29/2024 10:00:19 PM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
To: ConservativeMind
Every time I see articles like this, I think to myself: “Why is Fauci still a free man?” (And I use the word “man” very loosely.)
3 posted on 10/29/2024 10:03:33 PM PDT by norcal joe
To: ConservativeMind
4 posted on 10/29/2024 10:05:30 PM PDT by TheWriterTX (🇺🇸✝️🙏🇮🇱)
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