EXCLUSIVE: Lab discovers root cause of confusion, fatigue experienced by COVID 'long haulers'

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- One of the biggest medical mysteries about COVID-19 has been how some patients develop something called long haulers -- symptoms that include fatigue and confusion that can last for months.

A Bay Area virologist appears to have discovered the root cause, which is leading to better treatment and an end to suffering.

RELATED: Stanford clinic aims to help 'COVID long-haulers' through symptoms months after diagnosis

Caroline Stepovich has been a nurse for 37 years. Never had she run into so many skeptics that she had symptoms of long haulers.

"You're going to have to see a psychiatrist," she told ABC7 News. "You really believe you had COVID? You didn't. You really believe you had long haulers? You don't, and I will not see you unless you see a psychiatrist."

The Carmel resident had multiple negative results from nasal and antibody tests. That's until a Bay Area researcher, the former head of virology at Stanford, verified markers in her blood through advanced analysis.

"They're not in anyone's head. They're real," said Dr. Bruce Patterson, the CEO and founder of IncellDx in San Carlos. "They're due to real immunological abnormalities, and now we have ways of treating them."

RELATED: Post COVID-19 brain-related symptoms may be common, UCSF study indicates

Dr. Patterson used machine learning to zero in on a specific kind of white blood cell called monocytes.

"These cells were acting like a garbage can, and they were going around and scavenging dying cells that contained the COVID proteins and was reprocessing them so the immune system can see them," he explained.

The cells then trigger an inflammatory response that leads to chronic fatigue and brain fog, among many other symptoms.

"My brain fog was so severe that I would have to get up in the morning and make a list that I ate, that I took a shower, that I fed the dogs," said Stepovich.

Dr. Patterson's work on the root cause of long haulers is helping long suffering patients to be treated. Labs in Los Angeles and Chicago specialize in the analysis.

RELATED: Stanford study of long-haul COVID-19 patients finds common symptoms

Stepovich acknowledges the development pulled her back from a dark place.

"The misery from it and that no one believes you and there's no help just make you feel like, why live?" she said.

Patterson projects that one in three COVID cases may develop into long haulers. So far, treatment can lead to improvement in two to four weeks. His research findings have been published in the journal "Frontiers in Immunology." He also provides information to patients and doctors here.

VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, when you can get a coronavirus vaccine

Having trouble loading the tracker above? Click here to open it in a new window.

RELATED STORIES & VIDEOS:

• Everything to know about California's reopening
• Where you still have to wear a mask in CA


• Poll: What do you think about California's June 15 reopening?


• Cheat sheet: What you can and can't do after being fully vaccinated


• Can a workplace require the coronavirus vaccine? Here's what we found


• COVID-19 vaccine: Everything to know about your 2nd Pfizer or Moderna shot


• CA COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: See your status here


• These CA counties are way ahead in vaccinations


• How to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in every Bay Area county


• Map shows everywhere you can get a COVID-19 test in the Bay Area


• Data tracker: Coronavirus cases, deaths, hospitalizations in every Bay Area county


• Get the latest updates on California EDD, stimulus checks, unemployment benefits


• Coronavirus origin: Where did COVID-19 come from?


• What is a COVID-19 genetic, antigen and antibody test?


• What does COVID-19 do to your body and why does it spread so easily?


• Coronavirus Timeline: Tracking major moments of COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco Bay Area