University of Alberta researchers have identified an amino acid that may play a key role in predicting poor clinical outcomes and the treatment of long COVID.
In research published today in Cell Reports Medicine, the team says it has developed a predictive test to determine which patients with COVID-19 will go on to develop longer-term symptoms and proposes a clinical trial of an already-approved supplement as a potential treatment.
"This research helps us understand what's happening in the bodies of people with long COVID and could lead to better treatments and tests for them in the future," says principal investigator Gaviin Oudit, professor of medicine in the U of A's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and director of the Heart Function Clinic at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute.
In the study, the team followed 117 Alberta patients who were admitted to hospital with acute COVID-19, taking blood samples upon admission and at six months, and examining their clinical records for 18 months. Fifty-five of the patients went on to develop severe post-COVID condition, or long COVID, with three or more longer-term symptoms.
Researchers analyzed the patients' blood for changes in proteins and metabolites, as well as signs of inflammation. They then reviewed results using machine learning and developed a predictive model composed of 20 molecules. They found their model predicted adverse clinical outcomes following discharge from acute infection with 83 per cent accuracy.
