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Medical imaging has revealed that COVID-19 can in some cases ’cause the body to attack’, marking the first glimpse of what lies behind mysterious, serious, long-lasting and sometimes bizarre symptoms – even in those who don’t. never knew they had contracted the virus. , a new study has found.
From rheumatoid arthritis flares to autoimmune problems to “COVID toes,” several reports have pointed to unusual and potentially concerning symptoms associated with the coronavirus, many of which have been a mystery during the pandemic.
But according to a study by Northwestern Medicine, X-ray imaging has “for the first time confirmed and illustrated the causes of these symptoms.”
“We realized that the COVID virus can trigger the attack on the body in different ways, which can lead to rheumatological problems that require lifelong management,” said corresponding author Dr Swati Deshmukh said in a statement. .
The study, which was published in the journal Skeletal Radiology on Wednesday, showed that CT, MRI and ultrasound imaging can help explain why some patients suffer from “prolonged musculoskeletal symptoms” after contracting the virus.
“Many patients with musculoskeletal disorders linked to COVID recover, but for some people their symptoms become severe, are of deep concern to the patient or have an impact on their quality of life, which leads them to see a doctor and to get imaging, ”Deshmukh, assistant professor of musculoskeletal radiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a musculoskeletal radiologist at Northwestern Medicine, said. “This imaging allows us to see if the muscle and joint pain from COVID, for example, is not just aches and pains similar to what we see from the flu – but something more insidious.
In some cases, imaging may even suggest that a patient had COVID-19, but didn’t know it was otherwise, the study found.
According to the Deshmukh, experts are looking for fluid or tissue swelling, blood collections, or gangrene.
“In some patients the nerves are injured and in others the problem is impaired blood flow,” Deshmukh said.
Bizarre symptoms such as “COVID toes,” which in some cases can last for months, have been reported throughout the pandemic, but are not as prevalent as other common symptoms associated with the virus.
According to the study, however, there have been “a surprising number of extra-pulmonary manifestations” associated with the virus, as well as emerging reports of other musculoskeletal abnormalities and disorders, which “may have disastrous consequences in the short and long-term”.
Such long-term inflammation recently made headlines after Gwyneth Paltrow revealed she suffered from certain illnesses for months after her initial diagnosis.
“I had COVID-19 very early on, and it left me with some long tail fatigue and brain fog,” Paltrow wrote in a recent article for his website, Goop.
Paltrow said she did tests in January which showed she had “very high levels of inflammation in my body.”
Researchers from the Northwest Study said they hope their findings will help doctors properly treat certain rare diseases that can lead to a diagnosis of coronavirus.
“I think it’s important to differentiate between what the virus causes directly and what it prompts the body to do,” Deshmukh said. “It’s important for doctors to know what’s going on so they can treat properly.”
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