Why do the effects of Corona remain for a long time?

Why do the effects of Corona remain for a long time?

Researchers at the Max Planck Center for Physics and Medicine in Erlangen, Germany, were able to show that “Covid-19” significantly changes the size and stiffness of red and white blood cells, sometimes over a period of months, using an innovative method called “real-time deformation cytometry.” Actual, or RT-DC for short.

The new evidence revealed that the permanent imprint of “Covid-19” may be due to the effect of the virus on people’s blood, which leads to permanent changes in blood cells that are still evident several months after the infection is diagnosed.

"We were able to detect clear and long-lasting changes in cells - during acute infection and even after," explains biophysicist Jochen Guck, from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Germany.

In a new study, Guk and his fellow researchers analyzed patients' blood using an in-house developed system called real-time distortion measurement (RT-DC), which is able to rapidly analyze hundreds of blood cells per second and detect whether they show abnormal changes in their volume. and its structure.

These findings help explain why some infected people continue to complain of symptoms long after they have contracted COVID-19. Some patients suffer from the long-term effects of severe infection with the virus, as after 6 months or more of recovery, they continue to feel shortness of breath, fatigue and headache, and this condition, called “post-Covid-19 syndrome”, is still not fully understood.

What is clear is that during the course of the disease, blood circulation is often disrupted, dangerous occlusions can occur in the blood vessels and in which oxygen transport is limited, and these are all phenomena in which blood cells and their physical properties play a major role.

The team of scientists measured the mechanical state of red and white blood cells to investigate this aspect, and they were able to detect clear and long-term changes in cells, both during acute infection or even after, and published the results of their findings in the "Biophysical Journal".

They used a self-developed method called "real-time deformation cytometry", which was recently recognized by the prestigious "Medical Valley" award, to analyze blood cells. White blood cells and red blood cells, and a high-speed camera records each through a microscope. The custom software identifies the types of cells present, how large and distorted they are, and can analyze up to 1000 blood cells per second.

This technology is relatively new, but it could go a long way in exploring what is still unknown in the science of “Covid-19”: how the Corona virus can affect the blood at the cellular level.

This method can serve as an early warning system for detecting future epidemics by unknown viruses.

The scientists examined more than 4 million blood cells from 17 patients with severe disease from “Covid-19”, and from 14 people who recovered, and 24 healthy people as a comparison group. They found that the size and deformation of the red blood cells of patients with this disease deviate sharply from those of healthy people, and this indicates damage to these cells and could explain the increased risk of vascular blockage and embolism in the lungs. Red blood, in infected people.

Lymphocytes (one type of white blood cell responsible for acquired immune defense) were in turn significantly softer in “Covid-19” patients, usually indicating a strong immune reaction. Other white blood cells are involved in the innate immune response, and even these cells remain drastically altered seven months after acute infection.

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