Despite the prevalence of COVID-19, much about this condition remains shrouded in uncertainty, including the precise mechanisms through which COVID-19 triggers such a wide array of symptoms.
The authors of this pioneering study, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, believe it represents a "step forward" in the understanding and potential treatment of long Covid.
This study is unique in that it examines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of multiple organs—the brain, heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs—of individuals who had been hospitalized with COVID-19. Researchers compared these organ scans from 259 adults hospitalized with COVID-19 in the UK between 2020 and 2021 to a control group of 52 individuals who had never contracted the virus.
The study's findings are striking. Nearly a third of the Covid patients exhibited abnormalities in more than one organ, on average five months after leaving the hospital. Specifically, those hospitalized with COVID-19 were 14 times more likely to have lung abnormalities and three times more likely to have brain abnormalities. However, the heart and liver appeared to be more resilient to such effects.
Brain abnormalities included a higher incidence of white brain lesions, which have previously been associated with mild cognitive decline. Additionally, the lungs displayed signs of scarring and inflammation.
Lead author Betty Raman of Oxford University emphasized that individuals with multiple organ abnormalities were four times more likely to report severe mental and physical impairments, rendering them "unable to perform their daily activities."
It's important to note that this study was conducted during an earlier phase of the pandemic, before widespread vaccination and prior infections may have reduced the overall severity of COVID-19. Furthermore, the study did not encompass the milder Omicron variants that have since become dominant globally. The Covid patient group was also slightly older and generally less healthy than the control group, though the researchers attempted to account for these differences in their findings.
Despite these considerations, the researchers stress that people are still being hospitalized due to the virus worldwide, underscoring the ongoing significance of this study.
Co-author Christopher Brightling of Leicester University pointed out that the study provides "concrete evidence that there are changes in a number of organs" after individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19. Rather than causing alarm, he sees these findings as a "step forward" in terms of understanding and assisting individuals dealing with long-term COVID-19.
Matthew Baldwin, a pulmonary disease specialist at Columbia University who was not involved in the study, noted that these results suggest that long Covid isn't solely explained by severe deficits in one organ. Instead, it may be the interaction of two or more organ abnormalities that contributes to the physiological deficits resulting in long Covid symptoms. These findings represent a significant leap forward in unraveling the mysteries of long Covid and providing targeted support for those affected.
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