Long COVID: New evidence for cause of fatigue syndrome

The diagnosis and treatment of long COVID syndrome (LCS) is still very difficult, and there is only little knowledge about the factors causing accompanying symptoms. Researchers at the Joint Metabolome Facility of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna have now presented new evidence of triggers for fatigue following SARS-COV-2 infection. The team led by chemist Christopher Gerner showed that an exaggerated anti-inflammatory response is likely to be responsible for LCS. The study has been published in -iScience-. Today millions of people suffer from long COVID syndrome (LCS), which significantly affects quality of life. However, it is not easy to diagnose and treat due to a lack of understanding of the underlying disease mechanisms. Researchers at the Joint Metabolome Facility (University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna) have now turned their attention to LCS using mass spectrometry-based post-genomic analysis techniques. The strength of these methods lies in the very comprehensive mapping of actual conditions, i.e. the traceability of disease processes taking place in a patient. Together with Klaus Schmetterer from the MedUni Vienna's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Mariann Gyöngyösi, from MedUni Vienna's Department of Medicine II and Head of the Long COVID Outpatient Clinic at AKH Vienna, patient cohorts were selected and analyzed to elucidate the molecular basis of LCS. Classic inflammatory markers are absent