Cautious hopes for treatment of long COVID

2024-01-21 21:13:19

A study led by researchers at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, detected variation in blood proteins in people with long COVID. These researchers believe that such a discovery would allow faster diagnosis as well as the development of better treatments. These results give a small glimmer of hope to researchers and patients.

Lionel Berthoux, professor in the department of medical biology at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR), believes, however, that we must remain cautious regarding the conclusions of the study.

Lionel Berthoux explains that there is no proof that these disrupted proteins are the cause of long COVID.

It would be worth investigating further to see if [le fait de] rectifying imbalances in these blood proteins could actually improve patients’ conditions. But we are really in the unknown as to the final answer, he said.

He believes that research is still far from being able to offer a treatment but that it is certainly getting closer to a more rapid diagnosis.

Little glimmer of hope

Isabel Rouette has been living with long COVID for over a year. Her condition has improved in recent months, but she still has not regained her pre-COVID energy.

She had to grieve several times.

She has brain fog, a lot of fatigue, and she is no longer able to exercise as much or even work.

3:27

An interview conducted by Alexandre Painchaud

Photo: Radio-Canada / Jean-François Fortier

The social side, sports, and work, these are spheres that take up a lot of space in our lives, and from one day to the next, they are almost no longer present, says Isabel Rouette.

The study from the University of Zurich gives hope, according to her, but more to those who will be affected in the future.

She believes that detecting long COVID more quickly will allow health personnel to intervene more quickly in terms of treatment. However, for her, this study does not concretely change anything.