“When @ahandvanish saw the first visual confirmation of #LongCovid in her blood — she was overwhelmed with an odd sense of relief. In early November, she became one of the first U.S. long COVID patients to be tested for #MicroClots”webmd.com/lung/news/2022…
“It was validating,” says @ahandvanish “It's basically the first test specific to #LongCovid that is promising and scientifically sound and incorporates research from other post-viral illnesses.”
“Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency room doctors and others treating patients noticed the sickest produced excessive blood clots. The clots clogged kidney dialysis machines, caused strokes, and killed patients long after they left the hospital.”
“Some #LongCovid researchers have suspected smaller, less obvious blood clots may be causing many of the puzzling symptoms reported by patients who have lasting effects of the virus.”
“The theory is these weird & persistent clots, called #microclots, might be blocking delicate blood vessels throughout the body & stopping oxygen from getting to where it needs to go, causing everything from shortness of breath, organ damage to brain fog & debilitating fatigue”
“But if all the havoc is being done inside these minuscule clots, regular pathology tests won’t pick it up. A network of specialists is now setting out to see if specialized tests can be accessible and if the clots can be treated.” #LongCovid
“In certain conditions, such ME/CFS, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, acute & #LongCovid, researchers have noticed that damage to blood vessel wall.. can lead to abnormal proteins and platelet activity. This leads to small, strange clots that can block capillaries.”
Net-like protein strands called fibrin are a critical part of clots. Viewed on an electron microscope, "they look like a bowl of spaghetti that you’ve just drained in a colander,” says @dbkell, PhD, a systems biologist at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom.
“This problematic clotting may persist in blood for months or years after infection, according to research by @resiapretorius, PhD, of Stellenbosch University in South Africa.”
“There are a number of theories as to what causes #LongCovid – from viral reservoirs and debris to overactive immune and antibody responses – but approaching the disease with a ‘systems biology mindset’ they actually feed into each other, says @resiapretorius”
“#Microclots in #LongCovid are being studied around the world by researchers and clinicians who are hopeful that this theory represents a new and vital target in understanding and treating long COVID and related disorders.”
“Still, why microclots happen after COVID-19 in the first place isn’t entirely understood. Pretorius and Kell believe that the spike protein in the virus might be the trigger in people with #LongCovid.”
“That potential cause has been supported by a recent Harvard Medical School study that detected SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen in most #LongCovid patients up to 12 months after diagnosis, suggesting the presence of an active and persistent viral reservoir in the body after infection”
“One core question is: Do these #microclots actually represent a root cause, or are they in response to something else that's ongoing?” says Michael VanElzakker, PhD, a neuroscientist and #LongCovid researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
“I can't imagine being in a situation where you're just supposed to sit around and wait for genius researchers to solve it,” says @MBVanElzakker. “The way that it played out with AIDS, is that a lot of the information about the things tested came from the patients.” #LongCovid
“In the meantime, Davis, Pretorius, and other #LongCovid advocates and researchers who believe that microclots are the best explanation for the condition say the next steps should be made urgently: Make the tests accessible, fund more studies, and start clinical trials.”
“Relying on routine lab tests that show #LongCovid patients are perfectly healthy when they obviously are not is no longer acceptable, not just for the patients, but for researchers seeking solutions. ‘These individuals are really, really sick,’ says @resiapretorius”
“So just because Western medicine hasn't found the biomarker that the regular pathology laboratory can easily test doesn’t mean it doesn't exist.” #LongCovid
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