Exeter firm excited over long Covid test success [BBC News]

[InitialConditions]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g7722wxj4o

[Excerpt]

An Exeter-based research firm has developed what it believes is a "world first" breakthrough test to help confirm the existence of long Covid in some patients.

Attomarker, which specialises in health diagnostic technologies, said it could now divide long Covid patients into three cohorts.

Prof Andrew Shaw, from the firm, said it could be done "via a simple finger prick test sent through the mail".

Prof David Strain, a virologist and advisor to Parliament on health issues, said the firm was "right to be excited" but also struck a note of caution.

Prof Shaw wants to conduct further trials: "The right way forward is to collect around 300 patients, identify which cohort they fit into, treat them, and see if they get better."

He said a full clinical trial would need to follow that.

 

[InitialConditions]

"Attomarker said of those tested 60% showed a poor quantity and quality of antibodies in response to the Covid variant encountered, which can be treated via immunotherapies and vaccines.

"There was a hyper immune response to the infection for 15% of those tested, which means their bodies produced too many antibodies, which can cause problems in its own way.

"The remaining 25% had an unclear response or diagnosis from the test results."

 

[Utsikt]

"Attomarker said of those tested 60% showed a poor quantity and quality of antibodies in response to the Covid variant encountered, which can be treated via immunotherapies and vaccines.

I believe that @Jonathan Edwards recently said something along the lines of:
The quantity in the blood is irrelevant because immune cells in the blood are mostly inactive. The active ones are in the tissue and lymph nodes(?)

The quality of the immune cells isn’t really a thing because we don’t know what good or bad actually is or how we would measure it.

 

[hotblack]

Prof Shaw wants to conduct further trials: "The right way forward is to collect around 300 patients, identify which cohort they fit into, treat them, and see if they get better."

Someone from a private company selling a test which it wants to market and then talking about treating them, when we have no idea about treatment… hmmm.

I understand the hope especially from the patients involved, but even they seem to admit they’re not cured after being treated.

David Strain seems to be the only one speaking sense in that article.

Looking at the company website they’re trying to get approval for a “Long Covid Antibody Spectrum Test” and seem focused on the persistent virus theory.
https://attomarker.com/long-covid-test-health-professionals/
https://attomarker.com/treating-long-covid-the-persistent-virus-hypothesis/

 

[Trish]

Prof Shaw is a professor of chemistry.
https://experts.exeter.ac.uk/1921-andrew-shaw

 

[Cinders66]

More info regarding the LC test the BBC has covered today can be seen here in this long article on UK Long covid research : https://clinicaltrialsarena.com/features/long-covid-the-cause-the-consequence-the-future-of-clinical-trials/ IT Includes at the end: "Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue syndrome (ME) ...for instance, has been associated with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), so I would be fascinated to run an antibody profile for EBV analysis if grant funding were available" #mecfs

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

As presented the whole thing looks like a bad entry for a school invention competition. The presentation might be misleading but I am not optimistic.

It looks as if the patients were divided into three groups. One third had more antibodies than the others. One third had less than the others and the third third had levels in between - which of course will always be the case.

David Strain isn't a virologist as far as I know.
I wonder why he thinks this is of any scientific interest?

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

The quantity in the blood is irrelevant because immune cells in the blood are mostly inactive.

Yes but this is measuring antibody levels I think. Antibodies in the blood are what provide protection because they diffuse out into all tissues except brain.

 

[EndME]

Why is this news right now? I remember Attomarker being discussed 1-2 years ago, but seemingly nothing ever came from it, there weren't really any findings to support their ideas and no good data?

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

More info regarding the LC test the BBC has covered today can be seen here in this long article on UK Long covid research

It is so disappointing to see such embarrassingly banal and ill-informed comments coming both from Attomarker and from Imperial College. The idea that you can treat low antibody levels with 'immunotherapy' is just garbage. As if someone has had a quick read through an immunology book on the train.

 

[Kitty]

One third had less than the others and the third third had levels in between - which of course will always be the case.

So you'd probably get a similar same picture if you tested the first 200 people to visit the Euston Road Costa on a Wednesday?

 

[InitialConditions]

There's nothing in the article to suggest the test can discriminate LC from healthy controls, because everyone who has had SARS-Cov-2 will have antibodies, right? I'm not quite sure what they are trying to do.

 

[InitialConditions]

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue syndrome (ME) ...for instance, has been associated with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), so I would be fascinated to run an antibody profile for EBV analysis if grant funding were available

Famously, no one has ever done that before.

 

[Trish]

I think what they are trying to do is advertise their business and make pots of money by selling tests.

 

[Mij]

Prof Andrew Shaw posted this in 2023:

The work on our new diagnostic for Long Covid could be readily extended to other post viral syndromes.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1664984939341787144

Link from tweet:https://attomarker.com/long-covid-the-persistent-virus-hypothesis/

 

[MrMagoo]

So you'd probably get a similar same picture if you tested the first 200 people to visit the Euston Road Costa on a Wednesday?

I’d posit they would lean toward higher antibodies, given it’s not the cleanest!

 

[hotblack]

I think what they are trying to do is advertise their business and make pots of money by selling tests.

Given the link on their website (on an older article from 2023) to book a test, which seems linked to a US firm which runs private medical centres in the UK, I’d agree.
https://recognitionhealth.com/

But it does seem interesting they’ve popped up after a couple of years of quiet. Has something actually changed? Is his a local news reporter looking for a local story? Is the company trying to vie for business with the new government? Was Strain contacted for comment because of his local connection or his government role?