An Irish-led study has identified how and why some Covid-19 patients can develop life-threatening blood clots. The team says it could lead to targeted therapies that prevent it from happening.
The work was led by researchers from the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. Previous research has found that blood clotting is a significant cause of death in Covid-19 patients.
To understand why that clotting happens, the team analysed blood samples taken from patients in the Beaumont Hospital intensive care unit in Dublin.
They found that the balance between a molecule that causes clotting, called von Willebrand Factor (VWF), and its regulator, called ADAMTS13, is severely disrupted in patients with severe Covid-19.