Proteomic Analysis of Inflammatory and Neurological Blood Biomarkers in Acute and Chronic COVID-19

There have been almost 800 million recorded cases of COVID-19 worldwide. COVID-19 usually causes mild symptoms like fatigue and difficulty breathing, and brain-related symptoms like headaches, and loss of smell and taste. In severe cases, it can also cause life-threatening conditions like stroke. Most people recover from COVID-19 within weeks, but many continue to experience symptoms for longer, a condition known as long-COVID. One of the most common long-lasting symptoms of long-COVID is "brain fog", which causes difficulties with memory and thinking, yet not much is understood about how COVID-19 affects the brain. Studies show that a few proteins found in the brain can also be measured in blood to predict stroke in patients with severe COVID-19. To expand on this research, we will use advanced technology to investigate more than 120 brain-related proteins in blood samples of short and long-term COVID-19 cases. Measuring brain proteins in blood is a powerful research tool because they can reveal what is happening in the brain through a simple blood test instead of other complex tests such as brain imaging, spinal puncture, or subjective question-based tests. By looking at a larger set of proteins, we aim to identify patterns to group COVID-19 cases based on differences in protein levels. We will then determine connections between these groups and the different ways that the virus affects people, including the development of long-COVID. Our findings will bring us closer to developing clinical tools to detect and predict long-COVID and other COVID-19 complications, as well as their impacts on brain health. They will also improve our understanding of the virus, making us better prepared for possible resurgence of COVID-19 or appearance of similar viruses in the future.