Scientists identify how some Covid patients can develop blood clots
Scientists in Ireland have identified how some Covid-19 patients can develop life-threatening clots.
The researchers said the findings could lead to therapies that prevent it from happening.
The work, led by researchers from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, is published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
Previous research has established that blood clotting is a significant cause of death in patients with Covid-19.
To understand why clotting happens, the researchers analysed blood samples that were taken from patients with C ovid-19 in the beaumont hospital Intensive Care Unit in Dublin.
They found that the balance between a protein that causes clotting, called von Willebrand Factor (VWF), and its regulator, called Adamts13, is severely disrupted in patients with severe Covid-19. When compared to control groups, the blood of Covid-19 patients had higher levels of the proclotting VWF molecules and lower levels of the anti-clotting Adamts13.
The researchers also identified other changes in proteins that caused the reduction of Adamts13.
Dr Jamie O'sullivan, the study's author and research lecturer within the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology at RCSI, said that the research helps provide insights into the mechanisms that cause severe blood clots in patients with Covid-19.
Dro' sullivan said it is critical to developing more effective treatments. He added: "Covid-19 vaccines will continue to be unavailable to many people throughout the world, and it is important that we provide effective treatments."