Northwestern researchers studying long COVID patients make major discovery

CHICAGO (CBS) — Researchers at Northwestern University who have studying the lasting effects of long COVID made a significant discovery that could lead to a potential treatment for thousands of patients.
Long COVID impacts about a third of COVID-19 survivors. The researchers hope their discovery will lead to a potential treatment, down the road, to help those with pulmonary issues.
“I was coughing like every day for a year,” said Kevin Tenney, a Palatine resident who experienced long COVID.
Tenney said he first contracted COVID-19 in January of 2021.
“I had trouble sleeping at night,” he said.
He took part in a study at the Comprehensive COVID-19 Center at Northwestern Medicine.
“I remember getting like those CT scans, a couple time and Dr. Sala would say it was a little inflamed, some nodules, a thick bronchial wall. That’s what caused all the coughing, I believe,” Tenney said.
It was through lung CT scans that Tenney’s doctor, Dr. Marc Sala, would learn scar tissue was forming in Tenney’s lungs as well as the lungs of others participating in the study. Lab tests showed a certain cell type was the driving force behind the scarring.
“The implication here is that if you can find a drug to target these cells specifically, it might help prevent all of that downstream injury and irreversible scar tissue,” said Sala, the co-director of the Comprehensive COVID Center at Northwestern.
Sala is also the senior author of a paper involving the study of long COVID patients at the center.
“This has over four years resulted in an incredible statement about post-COVID care, as well as many other diseases that involved pulmonary fibrosis, and that cannot be understated, is that small contribution from each individual to a study like this is extraordinarily helpful for us,” Sala said.
Tenney said the news that his participation in the study could potentially lead to treatment for pulmonary conditions means a lot to him. He’s recovered from COVID three times since 2021, and said he’s finally feeling better.
“Just to be part of something where we’re learning new information that could help people in the future is great,” Tenney said.
Sala said what was also surprising is the research showed some participants still had the cells present in their lungs that were responsible for scarring, even up to a year after their COVID diagnosis.