Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Oct 28, 2025 3 hours, 8 minutes ago
Medical News: Researchers from the National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS in Rome, Italy, have uncovered striking evidence that people who suffered from COVID-19 continue to experience immune and inflammatory disturbances for up to a year after infection. The findings shed light on why many individuals still battle persistent symptoms months after recovery from the virus.
Lingering Inflammation and Immune Stress Uncovered in Long COVID Patients
The team, led by Dr. Marta Camici, Dr. Eleonora Cimini, and Dr. Alessandra Vergori, followed 196 unvaccinated people infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave of the pandemic. Blood samples were collected three months and twelve months after their infection to measure inflammation, clotting markers, and T-cell immune responses. This
Medical News report reveals that one-third of these participants developed long COVID, with fatigue, breathing problems, and cognitive issues being the most common symptoms.
Persistent inflammation and clotting abnormalities
At three months, patients—especially those who had been hospitalized—showed higher levels of inflammatory molecules like IL-6 and markers of blood vessel injury such as ICAM-1 and VCAM-1. These indicators suggest ongoing endothelial dysfunction, a state in which the inner lining of blood vessels remains inflamed and damaged. Even a year later, many of these markers remained abnormal, indicating that the virus may leave behind long-term vascular scars.
The study also found that proteins involved in blood clotting, including D-dimer and E-selectin, rose significantly over time, hinting at a persistent hypercoagulable state. This chronic activation of the body’s coagulation and inflammatory systems may explain the continued fatigue, shortness of breath, and cardiovascular risks often reported by long COVID patients.
Differences between men and women
When the researchers compared results by gender, they found clear biological differences. Men exhibited greater endothelial activation, showing higher levels of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, while women with long COVID had more elevated TNF-alpha levels—an inflammatory molecule often linked to immune overreaction. These results suggest that sex may influence how the immune system reacts long-term after infection and could explain why long COVID manifests differently in men and women.
Immune memory and exhaustion
The team also studied SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cells—the immune cells that remember and respond to the virus. At three months, hospitalized patients had stronger T-cell responses than those with mild disease. However, these immune responses declined by the twelve-month mark, suggesting a gradual weakening of viral-specific immunity over time. Interestingly, men had stronger spike-specific T-cell responses than women, possibly contributing to faster viral clearance and fewer lingering symptoms.
Conclusions and future implications
The researchers concluded that long COVID is driven by a complex mix of persistent inflammation, clotting irregularities, and immune system dysregulation that can last at least one year after the initial infection. The study underscores the importance of monitoring recovered COVID-19 patients for cardiovascular and immune complications even long after the acute phase. Future research should focus on identifying biological markers that predict who will develop long COVID and exploring sex-specific therapies that can restore immune balance and vascular health.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26/21/10412
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