(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago researchers have found a link between long COVID and eye health.
A new study from Northwestern Medicine is giving experts an idea how long COVID affects the body by looking through the eyes.
Ophthalmologist lead Dr. Manjot Gill says patients with long COVID experienced a significant reduction in the density of blood vessels in the back of the eye, compared to healthy individuals.
“The fact that there is lower blood flow and circulation in these smaller caliber blood vessels in the deeper layers of the retina, that may be indicating that there is lower blood flow in these similar smaller blood vessels in parts of the brain – that are leading to the neurologic symptoms that we associate with long COVID.”
Researchers hope to determine if retinal imaging could be used as a tool to diagnose, manage and predict the progression of long COVID over time.
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