Despite the many advances made in recent years, there are still major gaps in the care of patients with long-term and post-COVID. For example, there are still no tests, as there are no known biomarkers for the long-term consequences of a coronavirus infection. The Institute of Human Genetics at the UKB in Bonn now begins a genomLC study as part of a BMG funding priority. The researchers want to help speed up the diagnosis of long- and post-COVID and identify possible biomarkers that could possibly also differentiate between subgroups of the diseases. To this end, the genomic data of those affected is being analyzed as part of a study using blood samples. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) with 1.34 million euros.
After the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, it faded into the background for the majority of people. However, a significant number of infected people are still suffering from the late and long-term effects of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, meaning that medicine and science are continuing to work on supporting those affected through their research efforts and improving their care.
The terms long-term and post-COVID are used to summarize various long-term consequences after a corona infection. Long-COVID is the term used when symptoms persist for more than four weeks after a coronavirus infection or when new symptoms occur. Post-COVID is the term used for adults with symptoms that last longer than twelve weeks after a coronavirus infection or occur again, and if there is a worsening of pre-existing underlying illnesses. A particular challenge is that the symptoms of these two clinical pictures are very diverse and often vary greatly in their severity and duration, vary over time and are often difficult to distinguish from other clinical pictures. The causes for the development of the two forms of the disease have also not yet been sufficiently researched. However, comparable symptom complexes, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), have already been described as the result of other infectious diseases.
There are still many gaps in research into the long-term consequences of a SARS-CoV-2 infection
"Even though the reasons for the development of long-COVID and post-COVID are poorly understood, there are already many indications that genetic variability could be responsible for an increased risk of developing long-term consequences after an infection with SARS-CoV-2. We also suspect that the clinically observed individual differences in long- and post-COVID are due to variants in the genetic makeup of those affected,“ says ImmunoSensation member Prof. Dr. Kerstin Ludwig from the Institute of Human Genetics at the UKB, who is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRA) ”Life and Health“ and ”Modelling" at the University of Bonn.
The Professor of Immune and Infection Genetics continues: "If we succeed in dividing long- and post-COVID patient groups and their symptoms and complaints into subgroups based on their genetic information, the consideration of genetic information in diagnostics could be a promising approach for improved healthcare for those affected and their individualized treatment. This is why we are launching the genomLC study".
genomLC - Evaluation of genome sequencing in long-COVID diagnostics
The genomLC study aims to assess the benefits of genome sequencing in long-COVID diagnostics. The aim is to analyze whether information in the genome can be used to diagnose long-COVID and to differentiate specific long-COVID subgroups, and whether monogenic forms of long-COVID, i.e. forms caused by changes in a single gene, are present.
To this end, affected patients from various areas of healthcare and the general population are included as heterogeneously as possible in order to reflect the greatest possible variability in the clinical manifestations of Long-COVID in the study. Recruitment will be carried out in cooperation with colleagues in private practice, institutes of family medicine and general medicine and via calls in the media. The genome sequencing method will then be used, in which almost the entire genetic information of a person is mapped based on a blood sample. The genomLC study will therefore investigate whether genetic diagnostics enables earlier and more accurate diagnosis and makes it easier to classify those affected into subgroups in Long COVID.
"We hope that this will provide us with further insights into the disease and its treatment. If we succeed in identifying monogenic long-COVID forms in those affected, it may be possible to develop customized treatments that are individually adapted to the genetic characteristics of the patients."
To date, the causes of the late effects of a coronavirus infection have hardly been deciphered, which makes it difficult to develop drugs specifically for the treatment of long-COVID and post-COVID.
Federal Ministry of Health launches Long COVID initiative with major funding
The genomLC research project from the Institute of Human Genetics at the UKB is one of 30 projects funded by the BMG as part of the funding priority “Researching and strengthening needs-based care for the long-term consequences of COVID-19 (Long COVID)”. The funding priority is divided into several modules that will be dedicated to integrated or coordinated care, innovations in care (e.g. wearables) and research into the care situation and diseases. Projects with a total volume of 73 million euros have been approved for this funding priority, which will run from 2024 to 2028.
Contact
Institute of Human Genetics
University of Bonn
Prof. Dr. Kerstin Ludwig
E-mail: kerstin.ludwig@uni-bonn.de
