- In the UK alone, 1.9 million people say they have symptoms of long Covid
- Scientists found that people with long Covid had problems with iron levels in their blood
Experts may have found the cause of Long Covid after finding that low iron levels following infection could be a key trigger.
In the UK alone, an estimated 1.9 million people say they have symptoms of long Covid.
These can include fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle pain and problems with memory and concentration – and can last long after the first Covid infection has subsided.
Now scientists believe that problems with iron levels in the blood – and the body's ability to regulate this important nutrient – could be a key trigger for ongoing problems.
And the discovery could reveal possible ways to prevent or treat the disease.
In the UK alone, an estimated 1.9 million people say they have symptoms of long Covid. These symptoms may include fatigue, muscle pain, and loss of smell
Shortly after the pandemic began, a team led by the University of Cambridge began recruiting people who had tested positive for the virus.
Over the course of a year, participants provided blood samples and it became clear that a significant number of patients would continue to experience symptoms.
What is Long Covid?
Most people with Covid get better within a few days or weeks, but those with long Covid take much longer to recover.
Symptoms include:
Fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of smell and muscle pain.
It can also cause:
Memory problems, chest tightness, insomnia, heart palpitations, dizziness, joint pain, tingling, tinnitus, stomach pain, loss of appetite, high fever, cough, rashes and depression.
Source: NHS
Ultimately, the researchers focused their analysis on 214 people, about half of whom reported long Covid symptoms between three and 10 months after their infection.
They found that persistent inflammation and low blood iron levels could be seen as early as two weeks after infection in people who reported long Covid many months later.
They found that problems with iron levels in the blood were detectable in the Long Covid group, regardless of age, gender or severity of infection.
Dr. Aimee Hanson, who worked on the study while studying at the University of Cambridge and is now at the University of Bristol, said: “Iron levels and the way the body regulates iron were identified early on during SARS-CoV-2 -Infection disrupted. and recovery took a very long time, especially for those people who developed long-term Covid months later.
“Although we saw evidence that the body is attempting to compensate for low iron availability and the resulting anemia by producing more red blood cells, it was not doing so well given the ongoing inflammation.”
Co-author Professor Hal Drakesmith from the University of Oxford said iron dysregulation was a natural response to infection.
“When the body has an infection, it responds by removing iron from the bloodstream,” he said.
“This protects us from potentially deadly bacteria that trap the iron in the bloodstream and grow rapidly.” It is an evolutionary reaction that redistributes iron throughout the body and the blood plasma becomes an iron desert.
Researchers found that persistent inflammation and low blood iron levels could be seen as early as two weeks after infection in people who reported long Covid many months later
“However, if this continues over a long period of time, there is less iron for the red blood cells, so oxygen is transported less efficiently, affecting metabolism and energy production, as well as for the white blood cells, which need iron to function properly “The protection mechanism ends up becoming a problem.”
The results, published in the journal Nature Immunology, could explain why symptoms such as fatigue and exercise intolerance are common in Long Covid patients.
The researchers say the study highlights potential ways to prevent or reduce the effects of long Covid by correcting iron dysregulation early in the infection.
One approach could be to control extreme inflammation as early as possible, before it interferes with iron regulation.
Another approach could be iron supplementation – as Dr. However, Hanson pointed out, this may not be easy.
“It's not necessarily that the body doesn't have enough iron, it's just that it's bound in the wrong place,” she said.
“What we need is a way to remobilize the iron and pull it back into the bloodstream, where it becomes more useful for red blood cells.”