Gene linked to long COVID found in analysis of thousands of patients [View all]

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02269-2

The first genome-wide hunt to find genetic risk factors for long COVID has yielded a hit: a DNA sequence near a gene called FOXP4, which is active in the lungs and in some immune cells.

The study, which was released as a preprint on 1 July1, used data collected from 6,450 people with long COVID across 16 countries. Researchers hope that this analysis will be just the beginning: a vast amount of data are required to unpick a disorder as complex as long COVID, which has been associated with more than 200 symptoms, including severe fatigue, nerve pain and difficulties with concentration and memory.

“It’s very important that this type of study is being done,” says Chris Ponting, who studies medical bioinformatics at the University of Edinburgh, UK. “It will gain momentum and greater power as the case number increases.”

Such studies are early steps towards learning more about the causes of long COVID, says Stéphanie Longet, an immunologist at Jean Monnet University in Saint-Étienne, France, who has long COVID. “There are several key topics which are essential for patients, including treatments and prevention,” she says. “When causes, maybe multifactorial, [are] clearly understood, it will help to treat patients who will be more susceptible to develop long COVID and potentially prevent long COVID.”

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