A new study by the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Ireland has reported evidence that higher measures of blood clotting are the root cause of Long Covid syndrome, which might cause people to suffer from covid symptoms persistently, which includes shortness of breath, fatigue, and decreased physical fitness.
The study, published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, was conducted by the researchers of the University on 50 patients suffering from symptoms of the long Covid syndrome, to examine any abnormal blood clotting.
Presence of Potential Clotting Markers in Patients
The study found that the patients who were hospitalized during their initial COVID-19 infection had higher clotting markers in their blood. However, those who were under home isolation, seeking treatment remedies at home, also had elevated clotting markers.
The study led to an observation that higher clotting markers in blood were correlated to the symptoms of the long Covid syndrome, where symptoms can last for months even after the treatment of initial infection.
The study's lead author, Helen Fogarty, PhD student at RCSI School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, said that the study also discovered that the possibility of elevated blood clotting was still present in the body even after the inflammation markers were back to normal, which was the reason of persistent symptoms in the patient. The result proposed blood clotting as the root cause of long Covid-19 syndrome.
According to Professor James O'Donnell, Director of the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology, RCSI and Consultant Haematologist in the National Coagulation Centre in St James's Hospital, Dublin, many people are suffering from the symptoms of long Covid syndrome and many more are likely to suffer as the infections were still developing among the unvaccinated. The study should be continued to advance effective treatments, he added.
According to the reports of SciTech Daily, the research by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences was sponsored by the Welcome Trust, the Health Research Board (HRB) Irish Clinical Academic Training (ICAT) programme and the HRB-funded Irish COVID-19 Vasculopathy Study (ICVS), along with 3M Foundation, who supported through a philanthropic grant.
