Some recent studies on COVID-19 show that the virus leaves antibodies that can attack the body’s own organs and healthy tissues over time. The body’s reactions depend on the gravity of the disease and gender, experts say.

The impact of the virus on men and women is different. On the one hand, strong autoantibody responses are usually more common in females after an asymptomatic infection. On the other hand, males with severe COVID-19 symptoms have a higher number of elevated autoantibodies. Researchers recruited 177 people, including 65% women and 35% men, to conduct their study.

In some cases, people have an overactive immune response to the COVID-19 virus. Their bodies unleash antibodies that can damage organs and tissues even after a mild or asymptomatic infection.

The COVID-19 virus can inflate a harmful autoantibody response even in asymptomatic cases, according to the research published in the Journal of Translational Medicine. All 177 people with confirmed evidence of a previous infection have had autoantibodies that stayed in the body up to 6 months after a full recovery.

Scientists are now trying to find out how long antibodies can stay elevated and are investigating whether it is linked with persistent symptoms in people with the post-COVID syndrome.

In late December 2021, American scientists published a study showing that mutations of Omicron are able to displace Delta. Apart from that, Omicron usually affects the lungs less often than the throat. For that reason, it is highly contagious but less dangerous, researchers emphasized.