More evidence piles up for 'rogue antibodies' in Covid-19
“It should make us rethink dozens of diseases, if not hundreds,” according to scientists.
You have likely read about the positive protection that antibodies can offer against viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. Indeed, antibodies are great fighters against the coronavirus. Increasingly, though, it seems that some infections can spur the body to accidentally make rogue antibodies that attack our own healthy tissues, rather than neutralizing virus particles.
My latest story examines all the evidence that has piled up showing rogue antibodies arise in Covid-19, and how it could explain why people who have passed through the initial infectious phase of the disease suddenly develop worsening symptoms a week or so afterwards. These antibodies—known as ‘autoantibodies’—might possibly linger for months or longer, thereby possibly explaining what’s known as ‘Long Covid’ cases. Click here to read all about it in Nature magazine. (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00149-1)
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