New research shows reason behind blood clots in organs of COVID-19 patients
After studying the autopsies of 67 people who died of COVID-19, pathologists at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York have come up with an explanation for the blood clots found in the brains, kidneys and livers of many patients.
The answer lies in the thin layer of cells, called endothelial cells, that line the blood vessels.
Autopsies revealed that the new coronavirus not only attacks the lungs and respiratory system but also damages these cells, which distribute blood to our vital organs. As a result, some COVID19 patients die of multi-organ failure.
“An essential contribution to pathology is understanding the biology of the disease and the range of organ damage,” said Carlos CordonCardo, a co-author of the study, explaining the decision to perform detailed analyses.
The findings come from a study that has yet to be peer-reviewed but was posted on the website medRxiv, founded by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Yale University. Since the virus became a pandemic, many scientists have been sharing these so-called preprints, rather than waiting for the completion of peer review.
The tradeoff — the immediate sharing of information at the expense of the usual scientific rigor — has prompted debate among researchers.
The Mount Sinai Hospital team carried out microscopic examinations of the victims, examined their immune systems and mapped out the genetic messengers involved in making proteins.
In addition to documenting the damage the virus does to the lining of blood vessels, the researchers found that the disease appears linked to a severe complication of rheumatic disease and also a rare, life-threatening immune system disease called hemophagocytosis.
Authors of the preprint said that while COVID-19 was initially thought to be primarily a respiratory disease posing a risk mostly to the elderly and those with chronic illnesses, it is increasingly coming to be seen as far more complex and varied, involving multiple organs.