More patients needed for study on Covid-19 antibodies, long-term effects

 

COVID-19 | While studies have already been done in Malaysia and around the world regarding antibodies produced in response to a Covid-19 infection, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said more studies are needed.

He said this when asked regarding his call yesterday for Covid-19 survivors to come forward and join the study conducted by the Institute of Medical Research (IMR).

“From our preliminary studies on a cluster in Sungai Lui for example, we found that the antibody levels deteriorate after eight weeks.

“So, we need more patients to come forward so we can use their blood to look at antibody persistence and whether it deteriorates after three months or not.

“This is important for us. If antibodies deteriorate after three months, the patient could be re-infected,” he said at his daily briefing that was broadcasted via Facebook Live today.

The IMR study will also look at patients’ experiences while receiving treatment, as well as signs of side effects and long-term effects of the disease.

Yesterday, Noor Hisham had urged former Covid-19 patients to join a longitudinal study on the response of neutralising antibodies. A longitudinal study is a type of study designed to observe participants over a period of time rather than a “snapshot” of their condition at a particular time.

He said the study has already been approved by the ministry’s Medical Research Ethics Committee (MREC), and those seeking further details can contact Dr Rafiza Shaharudin via email at rafiza.s@moh.gov.my or phone at 03-33627753; and Dr Masita Arip through masita.a@moh.gov.my or 03- 33627735.

For the record, neutralising antibodies are a type of antibody that is capable of rendering a pathogen non-infectious – in this case, the virus that causes Covid-19. This is in contrast to binding antibodies that manages to latch onto the pathogen but fail to affect its infectivity.

Apart from furthering our understanding of Covid-19 immunity, studying antibodies also have important implications on informing vaccine research such as by revealing parts of the virus that could be targeted for treatment.

Neutralising antibodies - whether harvested from former patients or produced synthetically - have also been proposed as a potential treatment for Covid-19 patients.

On a related matter, Noor Hisham had said in June that the ministry was monitoring long-term effects of Covid-19 but had yet to find any at the time.

Nevertheless, the so-called “Long Covid-19” cases have been reported around the world including effects such as brain damage, kidney problems, and is even suspected to cause Type 1 diabetes. - Mkini