(Bloomberg) -- Some of the symptoms of so-called long-covid, the ailments that can persist for months after a Covid-19 infection, may be caused by inflammatory molecules trapped inside tiny blood clots, a scientist at South Africa's Stellenbosch University said.
High levels of inflammatory molecules were found in micro clots in blood samples from people with long-covid, Resia Pretorius, a researcher at the university, said in a statement on Monday. The molecules contained fibrinogen, a clotting protein, and alpha(2)-antiplasmin, which prevents the breakdown of blood clots, she said.
These “might be the cause of some of the lingering symptoms experienced by individuals with long-covid,” the university said in the statement. This “provides further evidence that Covid-19, and now long-covid, have significant cardiovascular and clotting pathologies.”
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The research, which has been peer reviewed and published in the Cardiovascular Diabetology journal, was based on samples from 100 long-covid sufferers. A larger study is planned.
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