Coronavirus: Scientists acknowledge that it can take years to find the correct antibody to treat COVID-19

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In this figure, taken on April 10, 2020, a woman has a small bottle labeled with a “Vaccine COVID-19” sticker and a medical syringe.

Coronavirus antibody tests that can find out who is immune to such deadly viruses can hold the key to helping life return to normal faster. But experts say it can take years to find an accurate antibody test.

Although there are promising studies on these antibody tests, no one has yet answered how antibodies prevent reinfection or how immunological protection lasts. So scientists say they are desperately looking for blood-based tests at “lightning speed” within the next few months.

Identifying the exact antibody is still difficult

It is necessary to understand how the virus itself triggers a healthy resistance system to initiate antibody production. However, scientists are divided on the behavior of the immune response.

This result has implications for antibody evaluation of various designs. Some of them failed accuracy tests because they were not fully identified for SARS-CoV-2.

Some early studies suggested that the antibody might want to block reinfection for weeks, NPR report. But doctors say the level of antibody in the blood that provides immunity and the duration of its protection remains unknown.

However, studies on the closest relative of the new coronavirus-SARS- suggest that patients eventually develop antibodies with a median of 2 years.

Dr. Susan Whittier Said The process of daily mail antibody checking is to identify the exact antibodies produced in the body to fight infection. She added that the heart of the matter is “I don’t know what we don’t know.”

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How do antibody tests work and why is it difficult to make something reliable?

The development of antibody assays requires knowledge of the proteins that make up the viral membrane.

The virus is made up of many proteins called antigen, Some of which are shared with different infectious diseases. Very few are unique to the modified virus.

Proteins unique to the virus cause the production of antibodies that neutralize the virus and prevent it from replicating.

“We need to understand which part of the virus is really specific to that virus,” said Dr. Whittier, director of the Microbiology Laboratory at Columbia University and the New York Presbyterian. Said DailyMail.

These sections of the viral protein coat must be created in the laboratory using the mobile line for testing in immunoassays.

Dr Whittier said scientists would extract the protein and place it behind a plastic well. Then put serum in it and see if there is anything that persists. That “something” becomes an antibody in the patient’s blood.

Anna Peteric Officials at Oxford University said that measuring the presence or concentration of antibodies forms the basis of a test kit for people who believe they have COVID-19.

Peteric said Lancet Testing and developing the antibody takes time. She explained that exposing proteins to the correct structure is often the “most difficult step.”

‘There are also questions about the best antigen (protein) for this purpose. Petherick added that the various antibody-checking laboratories may not be testing the exact same antibodies.

In some tests, antibodies produced in response to the virus that causes COVID-19 may be further confused with those produced for different coronaviruses.

“There are plenty of other coronaviruses, but the problem is that you need to find [the specific target] Because of this virus, it won’t cross-react, “Dr. Whittier said.

To find the right target, “it usually takes months or years, and we’re trying to do that in weeks to months,” Dr. Whittier said.

Also read: The coronavirus vaccine has probably been hidden for 100 years. I do not know yet

What does a positive coronavirus antibody test mean? No expert knows …

The time and quantity of infected humans is an important factor in antibody checking. And neither laboratory develops an antibody test.

Results from patients tell scientists the number of antibodies sufficient to make someone resistant to reinfection and how long that immunity lasts.

Antibody testing is the first step in answering a question. However, some humans spread antibodies more quickly than others, and some have higher amounts of antibody than others.

Now, the lab is starting to create “semi-quantitative” tests, which can tell if a person “has a few antibodies or a large amount of antibodies,” Dr. Whittier. Said.

As more humans are tested for antibody levels, epidemiologists can observe how much protection is provided, and for how long.

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