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.