Long‑COVID biomarkers found
New studies identified blood biomarkers tied to long‑COVID symptoms and immune pathways linked to lung damage, and cognitive therapy showed benefit for brain‑fog in trial data. These findings could speed diagnosis and help target treatments for persistent respiratory and cognitive symptoms. (contagionlive.com)
Yu Gao and colleagues published a Nature Immunology paper on April 30, 2025, that identified a plasma protein signature linking breathlessness in long‑COVID to apoptotic inflammatory networks centered on CCL3, CD40, IKBKG, IL‑18 and IRAK1. (nature.com) The Nature team profiled geographically independent cohorts from Sweden and the UK using ultrasensitive plasma proteomics and immunophenotyping and reported that healthy convalescents had higher SARS‑CoV‑2 neutralizing antibody titers than people with long‑COVID. (nature.com) A separate Nature Immunology paper led by Glenda Canderan (UVA) mapped “type‑1” T‑cell networks and described two restrictive lung‑disease phenotypes after COVID‑19: a milder form marked by CCR5+CD95+ CD8+ T‑cell perturbations and a more fibrotic form marked by attenuated T‑cell responses with elevated CXCL13. (nature.com) UVA researchers analyzed hundreds of cellular and molecular features and used machine‑learning on data from 110 patients seen at UVA Health’s Long COVID Clinic—most previously hospitalized—to link CCR5+CD95+ CD8+ cells and CXCL13 to diffusion impairment and fibrosis. (biorxiv.org) A pilot randomized controlled trial of Constraint‑Induced Cognitive Therapy (CICT) enrolled 16 adults ≥3 months post‑COVID, with 14 completers, and reported very large improvements in instrumental activities of daily living (mean gain 3.7 points, p<.001, d=2.6) and in a brain‑fog scale (mean change −4 points, p<.001, d=−2.9), with 4 of 5 non‑retired immediate‑CICT participants returning to work versus 0 in usual‑care (p=.048). (medrxiv.org) CICT in these studies comprised about 36 hours of outpatient therapy delivered over 4–6 weeks combining speed‑of‑processing computer training, task‑oriented IADL practice, and a “Transfer Package” of behavioral techniques to support carryover to daily life. (cambridge.org)
