In a recent ISB Research Roundtable, ISB President Dr. Jim Heath shared new findings connecting Long COVID to immune dysfunction and autoimmune diseases, and explained how artificial intelligence could accelerate the search for answers — and potentially new treatments — for millions of people living with the condition.
By integrating single-cell, proteomic, genetic, clinical, and laboratory data, the team found that these cells adopt molecular features also seen in established autoimmune diseases. The findings help explain how viral infections can disrupt immune regulation and may provide a framework for understanding and eventually preventing autoimmune complications following infection.
Researchers have identified several factors that can be measured at the initial point of COVID-19 diagnosis that anticipate if a patient is likely to develop long COVID. They also found that mild cases of COVID-19, not just severe cases, are associated with long COVID. Their findings were published by the journal Cell.
ISB researchers and their collaborators looked at the electronic health records of nearly 630,000 patients who were tested for SARS-CoV-2, and found stark disparities in COVID-19 outcomes — odds of infection, hospitalization, and in-hospital mortality — between White and non-White minority racial and ethnic groups.
ISB and Swedish Medical Center launched a study to follow hundreds of patients who contract COVID-19 to learn why those infected have drastically different outcomes. “Each of the COVID-19 patients has a unique lesson to teach us about how the medical and scientific community can respond most effectively to this pandemic,” said ISB President Dr. Jim Heath, who co-leads the study.