..
Study reveals what could be behind long Covid
Persistent blood-clotting may be the cause, according to South African scientists
Researchers at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University say they have evidence that significant and persistent microclotting may explain the symptoms experienced by people suffering from ongoing symptomatic coronavirus.
Writing in a piece published in The Guardian on Wednesday, Resia Pretorius, a professor of physiological sciences, revealed the findings of her study into the identification and causes of long Covid.
Pretorius ascribed the condition and its symptoms to a phenomenon known as microclotting. “A recent study in my lab revealed that there is significant microclot formation in the blood of both acute Covid-19 and long Covid patients,” the scientist wrote.
She noted that humans are normally able to break down clots through a process called fibrinolysis. However, data from her study shows that those suffering from long Covid have been unable to overcome microclots.
“The presence of persistent microclots and hyperactivated platelets (also involved in clotting) perpetuates coagulation and vascular pathology, resulting in cells not getting enough oxygen in the tissues to sustain bodily functions (known as cellular hypoxia),” she wrote.
She concluded that hypoxia could be the cause of the debilitating symptoms reported by long Covid patients.
This reinforces earlier observations that acute Covid-19 affects not only the respiratory system, but the cardiovascular system too.
Pretorius noted that people suffering from long Covid are not able to have their condition easily diagnosed as the appropriate pathology tests are not readily available.
She called for “urgent” research into the condition in order to aid diagnosis and develop treatment protocols, especially given hypoxia can elevate the risk of stroke and heart attack.
It is believed 100 million people around the world are suffering from ongoing symptomatic coronavirus. Sufferers report a number of symptoms, including extreme fatigue, brain fog, muscle weakness, and sleep difficulties, as well as the ongoing respiratory problems associated with Covid-19.
Others have noted the development of anxiety and depression.
==========================================================================================
New symptom of Omicron in young children revealed
US doctors are warning parents that under-fives are developing a “barking” cough
American scientists have identified a new symptom of the Omicron variant in children under five; a “barking” cough that may sound frightening when parents hear it.
According to Dr. Buddy Creech, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, some Covid patients in the youngest age group develop “croup-like” coughs which can be identified by a “barking” sound.
That happens, Creech told NBC news, because “little kids' airways are so narrow that it takes far less inflammation to clog them.” The best way to protect the youngest children, who are not yet eligible for the vaccines, is to “cocoon” them around vaccinated people, he said.
Croup, which is an infection of the vocal cords, windpipe, and bronchial tubes, is a well-known and usually easily treatable disease, so doctors are telling parents not to panic.
While the croup cough may be "scary to hear,” it does not necessarily mean there are any problems with the lungs, said Dr. Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at the University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland.
“The main treatment is to keep the upper airways open and clear until the inflammation subsides,” she said.
Croup can be caused by a number of viruses and normally affects young children aged six months to three years, with most cases occurring in one-year-olds. Most cases of croup are mild and can be treated at home, with symptoms usually improving within 48 hours.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, almost 7.9 million US children have been diagnosed with Covid, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics data.
Coronavirus in kids is generally milder than in adults.
==========================================================================================
Mom brings child to Covid-testing site in car trunk
A high-school teacher has been accused of felony child endangerment after
taking drastic measures to avoid catching the coronavirus from her son
Texas police are looking for a high-school English teacher after she allegedly locked her Covid-19 positive child in a car trunk to limit exposure on the way to a testing facility.
An arrest warrant for felony child endangerment was issued for Sarah Beam, 42, on Friday after her 13-year-old son was discovered in the car trunk at Houston’s Pridgeon Stadium Covid-19 testing center this week.
Bevin Gordon, the health services director for the local independent school district, reportedly contacted police after “she witnessed Beam unlatch the trunk and found the 13-year-old was face down inside.”
Court documents claim Beam defended the travel arrangement by arguing that the child was in the trunk to “prevent her from getting exposed to possible Covid.”
After Gordon contacted authorities and returned to the car, however, the child had moved from the trunk to the vehicle’s back seat, but the incident was caught on surveillance cameras.
Beam, who works as an English teacher at a high school in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, has reportedly been placed on administrative leave.
No comments:
Post a Comment