A research team at the Medical University of Vienna has identified a potential biomarker for Long Covid, offering new insights into the condition’s persistence. According to an announcement released this week, the protein PTX-3 was detected at consistently elevated levels in the blood of patients who experienced severe Covid-19 infections, even months after the acute phase of the illness had passed.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal “Frontiers in Immunology”, involved an analysis of blood samples from 141 individuals who had recovered from Covid-19. These samples were collected ten weeks and ten months post-infection and compared to a control group of 98 individuals who had not been infected with the virus. While other acute phase proteins returned to normal levels relatively quickly after the initial infection, PTX-3 remained significantly elevated in patients who had suffered severe cases, persisting for up to ten months.
Researchers hypothesize that the sustained high levels of PTX-3 could indicate ongoing repair mechanisms within the body or the lingering presence of SARS-CoV-2 remnants. This discovery suggests PTX-3 could serve as a valuable biomarker for identifying long-term tissue damage and potential complications arising from Covid-19, potentially paving the way for improved diagnostics and targeted therapies.