The findings, which further explore the link between long-term COVID and blood clotting, have been published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. Long COVID syndrome is a broad collection of symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, and reduced physical fitness that can persist for many months after initial infection with COVID-19. Understanding is limited as to why these symptoms persist in some patients but not others, and the new syndrome remains a significant clinical challenge for both physicians and patients. To gain a new understanding of what causes Long COVID, researchers at RCSI studied patients in Ireland with Long COVID symptoms and saw that blood clotting and the body’s immune system can remain out of balance long after the initial infection. The team of researchers, led by Professor James O’Donnell in the RCSI School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences with Dr Helen Fogarty as clinical associate, analyzed blood from 50 patients with Long COVID syndrome up to 12 weeks after infection with the COVID-19 virus . . They compared the samples to “controls,” blood from healthy people who did not have Long COVID syndrome. The study found that the blood of patients with Long COVID syndrome had higher levels of a blood clotting booster called von Willebrand factor (VWF) and lower levels of a protein that normally breaks down VWF, called ADAMTS13. Their analysis also suggests that blood vessels were still damaged long after the initial infection and that specific immune system cells were at abnormal levels in patients with Long COVID. “In this study, we examined 50 patients with symptoms of Long COVID syndrome. We saw that, in patients with Long COVID, the normally well-coordinated balance of pro- and anti-coagulation mechanisms was in favor of blood clotting,” said Dr. Helen Fogarty, Health Research Council Irish Clinical Academic Training (ICAT) Program Fellow and lead author of the paper. “Our analysis also shows that abnormal coagulation and disrupted immunity go hand in hand with Long COVID. Together, these findings may help explain some of the symptoms of Long COVID syndrome.” Commenting on the study, Professor James O’Donnell said: “Extensive research has been carried out into the dangerous clotting seen in patients with acute severe COVID-19 infection and we now understand much more about how and why these deadly clots occur. This study, we focus on the Long COVID syndrome, as much less is known about this persistent disease that affects millions of people around the world.” The study was carried out by clinical colleagues at St James’s Hospital and researchers at RCSI as part of the Irish Vascular Disease COVID-19 Study (ICVS) collaboration, which includes scientific researchers at RCSI, Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, as well as and clinical partners at St James’s, St Vincent’s and Beaumont hospitals. ICVS is supported by a Health Research Council COVID-19 Rapid Response Award (COV19-2020-086) and by a philanthropic grant from the 3M Foundation to RCSI to support COVID-19 research. Story source: Materials provided by RCSI. Note: Content can be edited for style and length.
