A gene that increases the risk of developing the sequelae ``long COVID'' after infection with the new coronavirus by about 1.6 times is discovered



Many patients who have developed a new type of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) suffer from the aftereffects of `

`long COVID '', in which symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, and cognitive decline continue for several months or more after infection. has been reported. A research team led by Hugo Seeberg, a geneticist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, reports that it has discovered a gene region that is said to increase the probability of developing long COVID by about 1.6 times.

Genome-wide Association Study of Long COVID | medRxiv
https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.29.23292056



Gene linked to long COVID found in analysis of thousands of patients

https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02269-2

Long COVID, which is considered a sequela of COVID-19, causes physical symptoms such as chronic fatigue, shortness of breath, joint pain, and headaches, as well as a feeling of fog in the head called “ brain fog. ” It has been reported that there are symptoms such as deterioration of cognitive function and concentration.

The research team led by Zeberg and others analyzed the causes of long COVID, treatment, and prevention based on data collected from a total of 6450 long COVID patients in 16 countries.

Since the spread of COVID-19, global searches for DNA sequences related to the risk of developing long-term COVID-19 have been conducted, and so far, genes involved in the immune system and intracellular entry of COVID-19 have been discovered .



As a result of the analysis by the research team, a gene region was discovered that increased the probability of developing long COVID by about 1.6 times. The gene region, which is located near a gene called '

FOXP4 ', is said to be active in the lungs and other organs.

Previous studies have reported that mutations in DNA near FOXP4 lead to an increased risk of severe COVID-19, and Zeberg et al. I have found something related.

It is said that the risk of developing long COVID increases as COVID-19 becomes more severe, but according to the research team, mutations in this gene region increase the risk of developing long COVID rather than increasing the risk of severe COVID-19. was found to be particularly related to



On the other hand, Zhongshan Chen of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the United States said, ``Some of the data sets used for the analysis of Long COVID this time analyzed the relationship between FOXP4 mutations and the severity of COVID-19. Therefore, a separate data set was also analyzed for a more detailed study of long-term COVID onset, ruling out the possibility that other factors, such as lung cancer, may have influenced the relationship with FOXP4. You have to,” he points out.

``Nevertheless, this study is groundbreaking, and future research may expand the candidate genetic risk factors associated with long COVID,'' Chen said.



In addition, Chris Ponding of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, said, ``There are various factors for each person who do not recover from long COVID,'' and suggests conducting larger-scale research. ``The analysis will probably be quite complex, but it is very important because the health, social and economic risks that long COVID poses are enormous,'' said Ponding. said.

in Science, Posted by log1r_ut