Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Lung abnormalities found in long COVID patients with breathlessness

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

Researchers have identified abnormalities in the lungs of long COVID patients who are experiencing breathlessness that cannot be detected with routine tests.

An MRI scanner at the Churchill Hospital

The EXPLAIN study, which involves teams in Oxford, Sheffield, Cardiff and Manchester, is using hyperpolarised xenon MRI scans to investigate possible lung damage in long COVID patients who have not been hospitalised with COVID-19 but who continue to experience breathlessness.

The study, which received government funding in 2021, is supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The findings were posted on the medRxiv pre-print server.

A previous study had used the same cutting-edge method of imaging to establish that there was persistent lung abnormalities in patients who had been hospitalised with COVID-19 several months after they were discharged.

Read the full story on the Oxford BRC website

You can also read more on the Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics website or the Department of Oncology website.

Similar stories

Long COVID: vaccination could reduce symptoms, new research suggests

While evidence suggests that people who are vaccinated before they get COVID are less likely to develop long COVID than unvaccinated people, the effectiveness of vaccination on existing long COVID has been less clear.

Com-COV vaccine study to research third dose booster options for 12-to-15-year-olds

Researchers running the University of Oxford-led Com-COV programme have launched a further study of COVID-19 vaccination schedules in young people aged 12 to 15 – with a focus on assessing different options for a third dose booster vaccination.

Population-scale study highlights ongoing risk of COVID-19 in some cancer patients despite vaccination

COVID-19 vaccination is effective in most cancer patients, but the level of protection against COVID-19 infection, hospitalisation and death offered by the vaccine is less than in the general population and vaccine effectiveness wanes more quickly.

Tinnitus seems linked with sleep – understanding how could bring us closer to finding a cure

New reporting guidelines developed to improve AI in healthcare settings

New reporting guidelines, jointly published in Nature Medicine and the BMJ by Oxford researchers, will ensure that early studies on using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to treat real patients will give researchers the information needed to develop AI systems safely and effectively.

Major boost for Oxford’s mission to counter future pandemic threats

The Moh Family Foundation has given a substantial gift to support the work of Oxford University’s Pandemic Sciences Institute, greatly strengthening its ability to identify and counter future pandemic threats and ensure equitable access to treatments and vaccines around the world.