Australian researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney conducted a study that revealed improvements in long COVID symptoms over time in their study cohort. The study found that immune abnormalities in individuals with mild or moderate long COVID had largely resolved two years after infection.
The research, published in a study that included patients who contracted COVID-19 during Australia’s first wave, showed that biomarkers present in patients eight months after infection had largely resolved by the 24-month mark. This suggests that long COVID symptoms can settle over time.
Biomarkers are biological molecules that can indicate diseases or health conditions, as defined by the U.S. National Cancer Institute. The study participants underwent detailed blood tests and reported health information systematically. The study observed no observable differences in immune function between the control group and the long COVID group after 24 months.
Chansavath Phetsouphanh, a co-author of the study, noted significant improvements in blood markers among participants. The self-reported data also indicated that 62 percent of participants experienced improvements in their health-related quality of life.
However, the study has limitations as it involved only one cohort with mild or moderate initial COVID-19 infections, and it remains uncertain whether the outcomes apply to vaccinated individuals or those infected with different strains of the virus. Despite these limitations, the researchers remain optimistic about the findings and continue to investigate why some individuals do not show improvement in long COVID symptoms.
Professor Gail Matthews, head of infectious diseases at St Vincent’s Hospital, emphasized that while the findings are encouraging, around one third of patients still report ongoing impacts on their quality of life. She highlighted that not all long COVID symptoms are driven by immunological abnormalities and some may persist even after the immune environment has returned to normal. Please rewrite this sentence.
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