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| Science & Technology |
| Pilot study on long COVID finds hidden lung abnormalities not detected in routine tests |
| 2022-01-31 |
| [IsraelTimes] Initial results suggest significantly impaired air transfer from lungs to bloodstream, linked to breathlessness, indicating possible microscopic damage to respiratory system Researchers have discovered abnormalities in the lungs of long COVID patients who suffered from breathlessness a long time after they were infected, which could not be detected with routine tests, according to media reports. The pilot study used xenon — an odorless, colorless, tasteless and chemically non-reactive gas — to investigate possible lung damage in patients who recovered from the disease but continued to experience shortness of breath. Initial results suggested significantly impaired gas transfer from the lungs to the bloodstream even though other tests — including CT scans — came back as normal, raising the possibility that COVID causes microscopic damage to the respiratory system. Breathlessness is a symptom in the majority of long COVID patients, but it has been unclear whether this is linked to other factors such as changes in breathing patterns, tiredness, or something more fundamental. The study’s chief investigator, Fergus Gleeson, professor of radiology at the University of Oxford and consultant radiologist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We knew from our post-hospital COVID study that xenon could detect abnormalities when the CT scan and other lung function tests are normal. "What we’ve found now is that, even though their CT scans are normal, the xenon MRI scans have detected similar abnormalities in patients with long COVID. These patients have never been in hospital and did not have an acute severe illness when they had their COVID-19 infection. Some of them have been experiencing their symptoms for a year after contracting COVID-19," he added. "There are now important questions to answer. Such as, how many patients with long COVID will have abnormal scans, the significance of the abnormality we’ve detected, the cause of the abnormality, and its longer-term consequences. "Once we understand the mechanisms driving these symptoms, we will be better placed to develop more effective treatments." While the full study will recruit about 400 participants, the initial pilot had 36 participants making up three groups: patients diagnosed with long COVID who have normal CT scans, people who had been hospitalized with COVID more than three months previously and were not experiencing long COVID, and a healthy control group. The findings, which have not been peer-reviewed, have been posted on the bioRxiv pre-print server. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 Wanna bet nobody us beeing discharged from the Russian or Chinese armies for saying no to the jab |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2022-01-31 17:38 |
| #1 Just for the airlines? What about us ground pounders? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2022-01-31 16:57 |