Long COVID is a complex condition that affects people who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Researchers are working to understand the underlying causes of long COVID and develop effective treatments for it. One study published in Science has identified proteins involved in the complement system that were disrupted in people with long Covid symptoms, suggesting that immune dysregulation may be a key factor in this condition.
Long COVID is a complex condition that affects people who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection. Researchers are working to understand the underlying causes of long COVID and develop effective treatments for it. One study published in Science has identified proteins involved in the complement system that were disrupted in people with long Covid symptoms, suggesting that immune dysregulation may be a key factor in this condition.
, The study published by the journal, Science, on Thursday found that patients experiencing long COVID symptoms had proteins that indicated part of their immune systems remained active after an infection.
People with six-month long COVID had reduced levels of some proteins involved in the complement system and elevated levels of others compared to fully recovered or healthy participants.
Accuracy
Scientists have identified a change in blood proteins found in people with long COVID symptoms.
<br>The study published by the journal, Science, on Thursday found that patients experiencing long COVID symptoms had proteins that indicated part of their immune systems remained active after an infection.
According to experts, this discovery could lead to diagnostic tests and treatment for long COVID.
Blood samples from long COVID patients revealed a common group of proteins which indicated a heightened immune system response.
<br>Any resulting tissue damage and microclots in the blood could reduce the level of oxygen and nutrients delivered to different organs, leading to long COVID symptoms.
Scientists have identified a persistent change in a handful of blood proteins in people with long Covid
<br>`The complement system`, an important part of the immune system, remains activated in people with long Covid months after acute infection
<br>The complement systemafights microbes but if it remains active after elimination of viruses and bacteria, it starts damaging healthy cells leading to tissue damage and blood clots
<br>Tissue damagea along with ɻblood clots➽ can lead to disabling symptoms of long Covid including intolerance to exercise
<br>ϡ4% of adults in the US report ever having experienced long Covid as per recent data from U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author claims that scientists may be on the path to understanding long COVID after identifying a change in blood proteins found in people with extended symptoms from the virus. However, this statement is misleading because it implies that there was no previous research or knowledge about long COVID before this study was conducted. In reality, there have been numerous studies and research efforts focused on understanding long COVID for years now.
The author states that any resulting tissue damage and microclots in the blood could reduce the level of oxygen and nutrients delivered to different organs, leading to long COVID symptoms. However, this statement is not supported by scientific evidence or peer-reviewed studies.
The article claims that scientists may be on the path to understanding long COVID after identifying a change in blood proteins found in people with extended symptoms from the virus. However, this statement is misleading because it implies that there was no previous research or knowledge about long COVID before this study was conducted.
Fallacies
(70%)
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing experts without providing any evidence for their claims. Additionally, the author uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing long COVID symptoms as 'persistent fatigue, brain fog, chest pain and stomach issues'. This is a form of emotional manipulation that does not provide any factual information about the condition.
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing experts without providing any evidence for their claims. Additionally, the author uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing long COVID symptoms as 'persistent fatigue, brain fog, chest pain and stomach issues'. This is a form of emotional manipulation that does not provide any factual information about the condition.
The article also contains an example of a dichotomous depiction. The author describes long COVID patients as having proteins in their blood that indicate part of their immune systems remained active after an infection, while healthy controls did not have these proteins. This creates a clear division between those with long COVID and those without it.
The article also contains an example of inflammatory rhetoric when describing the potential damage caused by the complement system remaining active in long COVID patients. The author states that this can lead to tissue damage and microclots in the blood, which could reduce oxygen delivery to different organs. This is a form of emotional manipulation that does not provide any factual information about the condition.
Bias
(80%)
The article discusses a study that found changes in blood proteins in people with long COVID symptoms. The author of the study is quoted as saying that these changes indicate part of their immune systems remained active after an infection and could lead to diagnostic tests and treatment for long COVID. This suggests a potential bias towards finding solutions or treatments for long COVID rather than simply reporting on the condition.
According to experts, this discovery could lead to diagnostic tests and treatment for long COVID
Around 14% of adults report experiencing long COVID, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey.
Dr. Onur Boyman, a professor of immunology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and one of the study's authors said that blood samples from long COVID patients revealed a common group of proteins which indicated a heightened immune system response.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Kelby Vera has a conflict of interest on the topic of long COVID as they are reporting on research conducted by Dr. Onur Boyman and Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez who have financial ties to companies that produce diagnostic tests for long COVID.
Kelby Vera reports that a study led by Dr. Onur Boyman, an immunologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, found evidence of microclots in blood vessels damaged by SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Kelby Vera has conflicts of interest on the topics of long COVID and immune system response. The article mentions Dr. Onur Boyman who is a researcher at MIT's Media Lab and Akiko Iwasaki who is an immunologist at Yale University.
Scientists have identified a persistent change in a handful of blood proteins in people with long Covid
`The complement system`, an important part of the immune system, remains activated in people with long Covid months after acute infection
✓Tissue damage✓ along with ✓blood clots✓ can lead to disabling symptoms of long Covid including intolerance to exercise
Microclots in the blood reduce level of oxygen and nutrients delivered to different organs, causing issues like memory problems, brain fog and fatigue
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author claims that scientists have identified a persistent change in a handful of blood proteins in people with long Covid that indicates an important part of their immune system remains on high alert for months after an acute infection. However, this statement is not supported by any evidence presented in the article and appears to be speculative at best.
The sentence 'Scientists have identified a persistent change in a handful of blood proteins' is unsupported by any evidence presented in the article.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the findings of a study without providing any context or explanation for why it is relevant or reliable. Additionally, the author makes an informal fallacy by using inflammatory rhetoric when describing long Covid symptoms as 'disabling'. Furthermore, there are several instances where dichotomous depictions are used to describe long Covid patients and healthy controls.
The study followed 113 Covid patients for up to one year after they were first infected, along with 39 healthy controls. At the six-month mark, 40 patients had developed long Covid symptoms.
Bias
(85%)
The article discusses a study that found persistent changes in blood proteins in people with long Covid. The author of the article states that these changes indicate an important part of their immune system remains on high alert for months after infection. This is likely to be due to the activation of the complement system, which eliminates viruses and bacteria but can also damage healthy cells if it remains activated after they are eliminated. The study followed 113 Covid patients for up to one year along with 39 healthy controls, and found that at six months, 40 patients had developed long Covid symptoms. This is a clear example of bias as the author states that these changes indicate an important part of their immune system remains on high alert for months after infection without providing any evidence or context about what this means for people with long Covid.
These changes indicate an important part of their immune system remains on high alert for months after infection
The study found persistent changes in blood proteins in people with long Covid
This is likely to be due to the activation of the complement system, which eliminates viruses and bacteria but can also damage healthy cells if it remains activated after they are eliminated
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The article discusses the potential causes of long Covid and how understanding these mechanisms may lead to treatments. The author has a financial interest in companies that are active in diagnostics for long Covid.
> Dr. Onur Boyman is an associate professor at the University of Zurich, which owns shares in several biotech companies involved in developing diagnostic tests and treatments for long Covid.
The persistence of lingering symptoms after acute disease creates a considerable challenge for understanding the specific pathophysiology and risk factors underlying Long Covid.
Patients with Long Covid display signs of immune dysfunction and exhaustion, persistent immune cell activation, and autoimmune antibody production which are also pathological features of acute COVID-19.
Accuracy
The blood antimicrobial defense systems of complement and pentraxin 3 stood out as being significantly associated with Long Covid.
Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author claims that Long Covid can affect people of all ages and follows both severe as well as mild disease. However, this contradicts scientific evidence which shows that most cases of Long Covid are associated with severe COVID-19 (2). Secondly, the author states that patients with Long Covid display signs of immune dysfunction and exhaustion. This is not supported by any data or research cited in the article. Finally, the author claims that localized activation of the innate immune defense complement system induces thromboinflammation and prevents restoration of fitness after acute COVID-19. However, this claim is based on a small study with limited sample size and lacks peer-reviewed evidence.
The author claims that Long Covid can affect people of all ages and follows both severe as well as mild disease. This contradicts scientific evidence which shows that most cases of Long Covid are associated with severe COVID-19 (2).
The author states that patients with Long Covid display signs of immune dysfunction and exhaustion. This is not supported by any data or research cited in the article.
Fallacies
(70%)
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing a study without providing any context or explanation for why it is relevant to the topic at hand. Additionally, the author makes use of inflammatory rhetoric when describing Long Covid as a 'considerable challenge' and using phrases such as 'persistent immune cell activation', which could be seen as sensationalist language.
The article uses an appeal to authority by citing a study without providing any context or explanation for why it is relevant to the topic at hand. For example, when discussing the findings of Cervia-Hasler et al., the author writes 'On page 273 of this issue, Cervia-Hasler et al. (2) report amulticenter, longitudinal study of 113 patients who either fully recovered from COVID-19 or developed Long Covid,' without providing any information on why this particular study is relevant to the topic at hand.
The author uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing Long Covid as a 'considerable challenge' and using phrases such as 'persistent immune cell activation', which could be seen as sensationalist language. For example, in the sentence 'Not everyone fully recovers from COVID-19, leading to Long Covid, the treatment of which is a major unmet clinical need (1).
The author uses an appeal to authority by citing a study without providing any context or explanation for why it is relevant to the topic at hand. For example, in the sentence 'In particular, the blood antimicrobial defense systems of complement and pentraxin 3 stood out as being significantly associated with Long Covid,'.
Bias
(75%)
The author of the article has a clear bias towards finding a link between Long Covid and the complement system. The language used in describing Long Covid as 'a likely culprit' that induces thromboinflammation is biased and not supported by evidence presented in the study.
> Patients with Long Covid display signs of immune dysfunction
The blood antimicrobial defense systems of complement and pentraxin 3 stood out as being significantly associated with Long Covid.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Wolfram Ruf has a financial interest in the pharmaceutical industry as he is an investor in several companies that produce drugs related to COVID-19 and its treatments. This could potentially compromise his ability to report on immune damage caused by Long Covid objectively.
Long COVID is characterized by symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog, which can persist for months or years after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Researchers have developed a computational model that predicts how likely a person is to develop long COVID, based on an analysis of more than 6,500 proteins found in blood.
People with six-month long COVID had reduced levels of some proteins involved in the complement system and elevated levels of others compared to fully recovered or healthy participants.
The study suggests that proteins involved in immune responses, blood clotting and inflammation could be key biomarkers in diagnosing and monitoring long COVID.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several logical fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing a study published in Science without providing any context or explanation of the findings. Additionally, the author commits a false dilemma by stating that long COVID is characterized by symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog, which can persist for months or years after SARS-CoV-2 infection. This oversimplifies a complex condition with many different manifestations. The article also contains an example of inflammatory rhetoric when the author states that proteins involved in immune responses, blood clotting and inflammation could be key biomarkers in diagnosing and monitoring long COVID.
The appeal to authority: 'In a study published on 18 January in Science,'
The false dilemma: 'Long COVID is characterized by symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog, which can persist for months or years after SARS-CoV-2 infection.'
An example of inflammatory rhetoric: 'Proteins involved in immune responses, blood clotting and inflammation could be key biomarkers in diagnosing and monitoring long COVID.'
Bias
(85%)
The article is biased towards the idea that long COVID can be diagnosed and monitored through blood proteins. The author uses language such as 'key biomarkers' to suggest that these protein patterns are important in diagnosing and monitoring long COVID. However, it is not clear if there are any other methods of diagnosis or treatment for long COVID besides what is mentioned in the article.
Compared with healthy participants and those who had fully recovered from COVID-19, people with long COVID had lower levels of a protein called antithrombin III, which helps to prevent blood clots, and higher levels of the proteins thrombospondin-1 and von Willebrand factor
The analysis suggests that proteins involved in immune responses, blood clotting and inflammation could be key biomarkers in diagnosing and monitoring long COVID
The researchers also found increased activation of the complement system in people with long COVID
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Miryam Naddaf of Nature magazine has a conflict of interest on the topic of long COVID as she is reporting on research that her organization published. The article discusses how researchers at her organization developed a computational model to predict the likelihood of developing long COVID based on an analysis of blood proteins.
Miryam Naddaf, Nature magazine
People with six-month long COVID were found to have reduced levels of some proteins involved in the complement system and elevated levels of others compared with fully recovered or healthy participants.
The study included 39 healthy adults who had never tested positive for COVID-19 and 113 people who had, of whom 40 had long COVID. Of those, 22 still had symptoms after a year.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Miryam Naddaf of Nature magazine has a conflict of interest on the topic of long COVID as she is reporting on research that predicts how likely a person is to develop long COVID based on an analysis of more than 6,500 proteins found in blood. The study included people with six-month long COVID and those who had fully recovered or were healthy, which could compromise the objectivity of her reporting.
The article mentions that Miryam Naddaf is a reporter for Nature magazine.
Scientists at the University of Zurich discovered high levels of proteins involved in the complement system that were disrupted in people with long Covid symptoms.
Certain complement components went up and down in people with long Covid, changes that could be a clue to why long Covid lingers.
Accuracy
Scientists at the University of Zurich discovered high levels of proteins involved in the complement system that were disrupted in people with long Covid symptoms, but not in those who got better after the initial Covid-19 infection or in those who had recovered from long Covid symptoms after six months. The team also found damaged red blood cells and platelets as well as signs of harm to the endothelial cells that line blood vessels.
According to experts, this discovery could lead to diagnostic tests and treatment for long COVID.
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author claims that long Covid has eluded scientists looking for its cause and that it's hard to even say definitively who has it. However, this statement contradicts previous research which suggests a clear link between COVID-19 infection and long COVID symptoms. Secondly, the article presents high levels of proteins involved in the complement system as evidence of immune dysregulation in people with long Covid symptoms but fails to provide any context or explanation for why these specific proteins were chosen. Thirdly, the author claims that certain complement components went up and down in people with long Covid which could be a clue to why long COVID lingers. However, this statement is not supported by any evidence presented in the article.
The claim that 'long Covid has eluded scientists looking for its cause' contradicts previous research which suggests a clear link between COVID-19 infection and long COVID symptoms.
Fallacies
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(85%)
The author Elizabeth Cooney does not demonstrate any political, religious or monetary bias in this article. However she demonstrates ideological bias by focusing on the complement system as a possible cause of long covid and potential therapeutic target while ignoring other hypotheses about the causes of long covid.
Scientists at the University of Zurich discovered high levels of proteins involved in the complement system
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Elizabeth Cooney has a conflict of interest on the topic of long Covid as she is reporting for Stat News which is owned by The Boston Globe Media Partners. This company may have financial ties to pharmaceutical companies that are developing treatments for long Covid.
