By now, you've probably seen the crowdfunding for a long covid biomarker test (). Maybe, like me, you've even donated to the cause. This is definitely exciting research, and much needed. 🧵longcovidbiomarkers.com
But, many folks are confused by what exactly its all about, so I want to try to clear that up up a bit by taking a look at their research correspondance, published in Lancet Microbes (). 🧵thelancet.com/journals/lanmi…
In this study, researchers compared the gene expression in blood cells from 48 people with long covid, to that of 12 people who had been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 but did not report any ongoing symptoms as a control group. 🧵
The groups were matched according to age, sex, vaccination status, and time since infection. Average time since infection was 24 months for long covid and 21 months for controls. 🧵
The researchers examined nearly 800 host and viral genes, and found 212 that were different between the long covid and control groups. Adjustment to account for other variables narrowed this to 70 genes that showed significantly different levels of expression. 🧵
This included SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid, ORF7a, ORF3a, Mpro, and antisense ORF1ab RNA, host cell ACE2/TMPRSS2 receptors, DPP4/Furin proteases, and several related to memory B cells and platelets, which were all upregulated in the long covid group as compared to the contol group.🧵
Researchers say antisense ORF1ab indicates ongoing viral replication, and ACE2/TMPRSS2 and DPP4/Furin are related to SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. 🧵
Host FYN RNA and SARS-CoV-2 antisense RNA were found to be independent predictors of long covid, and together distinguished long covid from controls with 93.8% sensitivity and 91.7% specificity. 🧵
FYN RNA alone did so with 72.9% sensitivity and 100% specificity, and viral antisense RNA alone did so with 52.1% sensitivity and 91.7% specificity. 🧵
Sensitivity tells you how many of the actual cases a test is able to detect, and specificity tells you how many of the cases it detected are actual cases. 🧵
Researchers then determined participants viral load - defined as the sum of all viral transcripts in the sample. While viral RNA's were detected in both the long covid and control groups, that in the long covid group was significantly higher than that of controls. 🧵
The researchers also found that higher viral loads correlated with lower immunometabolism scores, and higher self reported anxiety and depression scores. 🧵
Finally, they found that increased number of comorbidities was correlated with higher viral loads, while number of vaccinations was correlated with lower viral loads. 🧵
Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with the researchers or the orgs crowdfunding on their behalf, and I have no formal scientific or medical background. This is not medical advice and may contain errors.
If you find my threads useful, you can donate to support my work at ko-fi.com/froglet80
Adding this thread for #LongCovid #CommunityCare because people need support now while we wait for research ❤️
I've written ad nauseum about my journey thru this long covid nightmare for over five years now. You're probably all sick of hearing about it by now, but I figure you stick around because you think I'll find the answers somehow. And maybe I did, but you ain't gonna like it. 🧵
For those few that don't know - I contracted SARS-CoV-2 (herein, sars2) early in 2020 and subsequently developed persistent cd4 specific lymphopenia (the same type of immune deficiency seen in advanced HIV/AIDS) 🧵
That has led to a years long battle with opportunistic and reactivated latent infections, as we struggle to find some way to treat the underlying cause - which research has shown over and over to be persistent sars2. 🧵
I know everyone wants quick answers for #LongCovid but the thing is, they don't exist. Not for us, and not for #Virology or #Immunology in general. And when you try to force it, you run the risk of making things worse and not being able to determine the cause. 🧵
It's horrific and inexcuseable that the healthcare system, governments, and researchers have left us in the position of trying to live long enough for them to unass their heads and help us, but here we are. Thing is, that means we have to do it smart. 🧵
To do that, let's back up and review the scientific method. Some may vaguely remember it, from way back in the elementary school science fair days. But most folks these days, seem to have never learned it at all. 🧵
Hear me out. Everything is allergies now, right? Well, in a way, the deniers are actually correct. Most people are allergic to viruses, and can become very ill from contact with them. We should use this technicality to its fullest potential. 🧵
First, the background. What are "allergies?" Allergies are an immune response to a foreign substance the immune system perceives as a threat.That is, when your immune cells encounter pollen, for example, they perceive it as a threat and mount an attack as they would a virus 🧵
So if the minimizers want to call everything "not covid" and blame their symptoms on "allergies," if doctors want to call our requests to mask for covid safety "anxiety," its time to take note of that line on patient intake paperwork that asks about ... allergies. 🧵
Luc Montagnier was a Nobel Prize recipient for his work in isolating HIV, but early in the pandemic when he demonstrated genetic sequences of HIV appearing in the genome of SARS-CoV-2 he was forced to withdraw his paper under political pressure. 🧵
Our community hasn't wanted to talk about what that potentially means, even in the face of massive amounts of data suggesting not only that they "may have function," but also that this seems to be the only part of SARSCoV2 which persists-independent of the rest of the virus. 🧵
I don't care if PhD's put in bats or bats w/PhD's mucked this all up. I just want to know what the fuck is in this thing that is killing me, so maybe I can figure out what to do about it. I'll leave it to others to decide if someone did something deserving of consequences. 🧵
Millions of us contracted SARS-CoV-2 in early 2020, a full year before any of the vaccines existed, and are still very ill. Since those don't have whole virus, but only spike? There is only one way they could possibly be the same illness. 🧵
If the vaccines are actually causing the same illness as Long Covid, then the spikey bits alone must be responsible. That's basic logic. And the only way that could be the case in Long Covid, years after infection, is if its replicating independently. 🧵
Somewhere right about there, the words of Luc Montagnier become rather haunting.
"Moreover each of these elements is made of 18 or more nucleotides and therefore may have function." 🧵
Imagine getting a virus you were told was a simple respiratory virus - "like the common cold" & "mild for most people," and five yeas later you are still sick, still disabled, and dying in a tent from so-called "AIDS defining infections." That is my reality. 🧵
I got SARS-CoV-2 in February, 2020. That was a full year before the vaccines existed, for the timeline-challenged. The virus did this to me, not the vaccine. 🧵
LabLeak vs ReallySmartBats™️ matters little to me. But the point about "biological characteristic not found in nature" is interesting from a scientific and medical standpoint. 🧵