{"id":22768,"date":"2021-08-16T09:43:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-16T13:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22768"},"modified":"2021-08-16T10:46:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T14:46:39","slug":"irish-research-shows-people-with-long-covid-have-higher-measures-of-blood-clotting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22768","title":{"rendered":"Irish Research Shows People With Long Covid Have Higher Measures Of Blood Clotting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Long Covid is estimated to affect millions of people worldwide (PA Wire\/PA Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

New evidence shows that patients with long Covid continue to have higher measures of blood clotting, which may explain persistent symptoms, including reduced physical fitness and fatigue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study, led by researchers from RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) University of Medicine and Health Sciences, is published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Hemostasis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous work by the same group studied the dangerous clotting observed in patients with severe acute Covid-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, far less is known about long Covid syndrome, where symptoms can last weeks to months after the initial infection has resolved and is estimated to affect millions of people worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers examined 50 patients with symptoms of long Covid syndrome to better understand if abnormal blood clotting is involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They discovered that clotting markers were significantly elevated in the blood of patients with long Covid syndrome compared with healthy controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers said these clotting markers were higher in patients who required hospital admission following their Covid-19 infection, but they also found that even those who were able to manage their illness at home still had persistently high clotting markers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers observed that higher clotting was directly related to other symptoms of long Covid syndrome, such as reduced physical fitness and fatigue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though markers of inflammation had all returned to normal levels, this increased clotting potential was still present in long Covid patients, they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Helen Fogarty, the study\u2019s lead author, and PhD student at the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology, said: \u201cBecause clotting markers were elevated while inflammation markers had returned to normal, our results suggest that the clotting system may be involved in the root cause of long Covid syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor James O\u2019Donnell, director of the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology, RCSI and consultant hematologist in St James\u2019s Hospital in Dublin, said: \u201cUnderstanding the root cause of a disease is the first step toward developing effective treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMillions of people are already dealing with the symptoms of long Covid syndrome, and more people will develop long Covid as the infections among the unvaccinated continue to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is imperative that we continue to study this condition and develop effective treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work was funded by the Wellcome Trust, the Health Research Board (HRB) Irish Clinical Academic Training (ICAT) program as well as the HRB-funded Irish Covid-19 Vasculopathy Study (ICVS).<\/p>\n

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