UCL research says a blood test while a person has Covid-19 could predict who is more likely to get long Covid.
A new small-scale study led by UCL researchers, and published in eBioMedicine, says looking at the proteins in the blood of those with the virus could help predict if the person will have persistent symptoms in the future.
UCL research on Covid
The UCL-led study analysed proteins in the blood of healthcare workers infected with SARS-CoV-2, and compared them to samples from healthcare workers who had not been infected.
It’s explained that usually protein levels in the body are stable. Still, the researchers found a vast difference in levels of some of the proteins up to six weeks following infection, suggesting a “disruption to a number of important biological processes”.
The researchers used an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm and identified a “signature” in the abundance of different proteins that successfully predicted whether or not the person would go on to report persistent symptoms a year after infection.
The researchers said if the study was conducted on a larger scale, with a completely independent group of patients, they could potentially offer a test or long Covid.
A test could be on the way
Lead author Dr Gaby Captur (MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL) said: ‘Our study shows that even mild or asymptomatic Covid-19 disrupts the profile of proteins in our blood plasma. This means that even mild Covid-19 affects normal biological processes in a dramatic way, up to at least six weeks after infection.
‘Our tool predicting long Covid still needs to be validated in an independent, larger group of patients. However, using our approach, a test that predicts long Covid at the time of initial infection could be rolled out quickly and in a cost-effective way.
‘The method of analysis we used is readily available in hospitals and is high-throughput, meaning it can analyse thousands of samples in an afternoon.’