Long COVID: Could treating microclots relieve symptoms? – Medical News Today

Share on PinterestNew research suggests that antiplatelet therapy and anticoagulants may help treat people with long COVID. Tara Moore/Getty Images

• Scientists know little about the underlying mechanisms of long COVID despite widespread reports about it since near the start of the pandemic,
• This lack of knowledge has made diagnosing and developing treatments for this condition challenging.
• COVID-19 affects the lining of the blood vessels, and scientists have investigated whether long COVID symptoms could have links to this.
• A team based in South Africa has released preliminary results of a treatment regime using antiplatelet therapy and anticoagulants to treat people with long COVID.

Long COVID describes the chronic and debilitating symptoms experienced by people with COVID-19 that last for more than 4 weeks after the resolution of the initial infection.

These symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and chest pain, cognitive problems, heart palpitations, insomnia, tinnitus, and joint pain.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has considered long COVID a disability since July 2021.

Most people with COVID-19 get better within 12 weeks, but scientists do not know how long the condition could last. Nor do they know exactly how many people may develop long COVID. However, estimates suggest over 20% of people who test positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could continue to experience chronic symptoms.

Scientists have little understanding of the mechanisms behind the condition, which has made it difficult for them to develop treatments.

Last year, a team from Stellenbosch University in South Africa published results of blood plasma analysis, which revealed that many people with long COVID had microclots.

These microclots were difficult to detect using standard plasma analysis procedures and resisted the body’s ability to dissolve coagulated blood. The scientists also found that the clots “trap” inflammatory molecules.

This work formed the basis of the so-called microclot model, which proposes that small clots in the blood capillaries that prevent oxygen from reaching the tissues may cause long COVID symptoms.

Now, the same team has released a preprint outlining details of a further cohort of 845 people with long COVID.

The team analyzed blood samples from 70 people with confirmed long COVID to detect microclots.

The authors also outlined a 1-month-long dual antiplatelet therapy for 24 people with long COVID. The therapy involved the …….

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/long-covid-could-antiplatelet-therapy-help