Ontario researchers say they've found what causes long-COVID symptoms
Researchers at Western University in London, Ont., say they have identified for the first time the cause of long COVID symptoms.
According to a press release issued Tuesday by Western, the LIVECOVIDFREE study, which is based at five centres throughout Ontario and spearheaded by Western professor Grace Parraga, is the largest MRI study of patients afflicted with long COVID.
The use of MRI technology — combined with inhaled xenon gas — allowed researchers to see that long-COVID symptoms are related to the microscopic abnormalities that affect how oxygen is exchanged from the lungs to the red blood cells.
The results of the study were published in the journal Radiology and reveal a potential cause for long-COVID symptoms.
“By understanding the cause, team members responsible for patient care have been able to target treatment for these patients,” the press release reads.
Long COVID is characterized by the feeling of brain fog, breathlessness, fatigue and limited capacity to do normal day-to-day things. The symptoms can last weeks or months following initial infection.
“I think it is always a conundrum when someone has symptoms, but you can't identify the problem. Because if you can't identify the problem, you can't identify solutions,” said Parraga, Tier 1 Canada research chair in lung imaging to transform outcomes at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.
By having study participants inhale polarized xenon gas while inside an MRI, researchers could see in real time the function of the 300-500 million tiny alveolar sacs, which are about 1/5 of a mm in diameter and are responsible for delivering oxygen to the blood.
“With our MRI technique, we can watch in real-time the air moving through the alveolar membrane and through to the blood cells; and we can actually see the function of the tiny alveolar sacs in the lungs,” said Parraga. “What we saw on the MRI was that the transition of the oxygen into the red blood cells was depressed in these symptomatic patients who had had COVID-19, compared to healthy volunteers.”
Study participants with suspected long COVID were recruited from two London, Ont., hospitals -- London Health Sciences Centre's (LHSC) urgent COVID-19 care clinic and St. Joseph’s Health Care's post-acute COVID-19 program.
According to the release, some study participants were still symptomatic after 35 weeks. A one-year follow-up is now underway to better understand the results.
The study was done in collaboration with LHSC, St. Joseph’s, Lakehead University, McMaster University, Toronto Metropolitan University and Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Live updates: What star witness in Trump hush money case has said on the stand so far
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Wildfire smoke drifts across Canada, over parts of U.S., prompting air quality advisories
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
When you have a moment's notice to evacuate, what do you take?
Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.
'A great victory for the industry': Taxi drivers celebrate ruling that found City of Ottawa negligent in allowing Uber to operate
An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled that the City of Ottawa was negligent in its enforcement of the city's taxi bylaw when it allowed Uber to begin operating in 2014, harming the city's established taxi industry.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.
New York City FC coach repeats denial of allegations he punched a Toronto FC player
New York City FC coach Nick Cushing has repeated his denial of allegations that he punched a Toronto FC player, saying he is shocked and upset at the claim.