According to a new study published in iScience, an exaggerated anti-inflammatory response is likely a factor responsible for long-standing COVID syndrome. The researchers from the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna revealed that excessive anti-inflammatory substances instead of inflammatory reactions are the triggers for long-term COVID syndrome.

Researchers revealed several anti-inflammatory proteins, lipids, and metabolites are the major contributors to long-term COVID syndrome symptoms. On the other hand, they also found that the formation of alternatively polarised macrophages can also lead to long-covid syndrome. They explained that in the course of a viral infection, there is normally a very strong activation of the immune system. However, in all of the long-term COVID patients studied, corresponding markers of the inflammatory response, such as cytokines, acute phase proteins, and eicosanoids, were hardly detectable.

Additionally, they also found that the difference in the presence of an inflammatory response to COVID infection was more pronounced in long-term COVID patients compared to asymptomatic patients recovering from COVID disease and healthy controls. 

(Source: https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1030765 )