Wright Center launches long-haul COVID-19 study with the help of twins
Virginia Commonwealth University is launching a study of the impact of COVID-19 on twins to try to determine why some people experience symptoms much longer than others.
The Twin 360 project, which began this week, will help researchers understand the genetic and environmental factors for why some people experience lasting symptoms after contracting COVID-19. And the research will inform possible treatments for the new chronic disease.
“Whether or not they had a serious case of COVID-19, many patients are continuing to experience symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue and loss of taste and smell, well after they’re infected with the virus,” said F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., co-lead on the project and the director of the VCU C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research. “And, frankly, we don’t know much about why.”