Unusual structures have been identified in the blood of people experiencing long Covid. Researchers have noticed peculiar formations under microscopes that may be linked to symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog.
Long Covid has remained puzzling since the pandemic began, but distinctive biomarkers have now been found that could support two possible explanations, either or both of which may be valid, reports The Mirror.
One theory proposes that the lingering illness is caused by tiny blood clots that block circulation, while another suggests sticky DNA webs could produce a similar effect.
Although it is early in the research, doctors are hopeful that understanding how these blood components influence long Covid could lead to new treatments or even a cure, reports The Mirror.
In a study published in the Journal of Medical Virology, an international team led by Professor Alain Thierry of Montpellier University, working with South African physiologist Professor Resia Pretorius, examined blood samples from 50 long Covid patients and 38 healthy volunteers, reports the Mirror, reports The Mirror.
They found a striking increase in microclots — nearly 20 times more than in healthy blood — and the clots were also larger, reports The Mirror.
The clots contain ‘NETs’ — neutrophil extracellular traps — sticky DNA and enzyme webs released by white blood cells to trap viruses.
Normally, NETs perform their function and then break down, but in these samples, the webs appeared embedded within the microclots, forming resilient structures that could hinder capillary blood flow and resist normal cleanup, reports The Mirror.
The researchers employed imaging flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy to detect these tangled clots, observing the NETs–microclot combination in all samples, though much more pronounced in those with long Covid.
The contrast was so marked that an anonymised AI system could distinguish long Covid patients with about 91% accuracy, suggesting a potential biomarker for a condition often overlooked because standard tests return ‘normal’, reports The Mirror.
Pretorius’s team first identified microclots in long Covid in 2021, and Thierry’s group reported elevated NETs in 2022.
Combining these findings, the new study suggests the two elements may work together in the blood, and when that interaction becomes abnormal, it could contribute to the illness, reports The Mirror.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
