Chuck Darwin<p>Chertow’s research has already encouraged experimental use of antiviral medications such as Pfizer Inc.’s <a href="https://c.im/tags/Paxlovid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Paxlovid</span></a> to see if it can root out viral reservoirs and alleviate long-haul symptoms. </p><p>Even a relatively small number of infected cells could provoke the immune system to produce <a href="https://c.im/tags/inflammation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>inflammation</span></a>, blood <a href="https://c.im/tags/clots" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>clots</span></a> and other problems associated with long <a href="https://c.im/tags/Covid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Covid</span></a>, according to Amy Proal, co-founder of PolyBio Research Foundation, a non-profit in Boston that facilitates research into chronic, infection-associated conditions. </p><p>It’s “the most logical explanation because it accounts for pretty much everything else,” she said. </p><p><a href="https://c.im/tags/Scanning" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Scanning</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Hideouts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Hideouts</span></a></p><p>Henrich, who helped develop sophisticated imaging techniques that can pinpoint HIV within tissues, plans to use the same approach to find Covid’s hideouts. </p><p>Dozens of patients will undergo a series of whole-body scans that will look for signals of production or persistence of viral protein. </p><p>Those will be compared with symptoms to see how the lingering presence of the coronavirus correlates to long Covid.</p><p>The group has started scanning patients to look for protective T-cells that could indicate an <a href="https://c.im/tags/aberrant" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>aberrant</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/immune" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>immune</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/response" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>response</span></a> to SARS-CoV-2. They’re examining biopsies of participants’ digestive tracts for viral vestiges, Henrich said.</p><p>(3/n)</p><p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-03-01/hidden-viruses-in-your-body-could-answer-why-long-covid-lingers?leadSource=uverify%20wall" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">bloomberg.com/news/features/20</span><span class="invisible">23-03-01/hidden-viruses-in-your-body-could-answer-why-long-covid-lingers?leadSource=uverify%20wall</span></a></p>