Scientists Discover Cause of COVID-19 Blood Clotting

Blood clotting is one of the more serious symptoms of COVID-19. It has been identified in patients of all ages and, in some cases, has caused death.

Now scientists have pinpointed the possible cause of why the disease causes this dangerous symptom. In a recently published study in the journal Science, researchers said that autoantibodies, a variant set of cells that attacks its own body instead of invading pathogens, are likely to blame, driving up inflammation and causing the blood to form clots.

According to TIME, the researchers found that half of hospitalized COVID-19 patients had the rogue antibodies. Laboratory mice injected with autoantibodies also developed blood clots.

The same group of researchers identified another mechanism that leads to clotting back in April. They found that the inflammation triggered by COVID-19 forms cells called neutrophils that aggregate in blood vessels walls and trap other clotting factors in the blood. Dr. Yogendra Kanthi, one of the study authors, of the University of Michigan, said that COVID-19 patients who had more of these “traps” in their blood were more likely to experience severe disease.

‘Inflammation begets clotting, and the clotting leads to more inflammation,” he said, according to TIME. The researchers found that the autoantibodies drive the vicious cycle of inflammation and clotting and say their findings may help physicians prescribe more aggressive and appropriate drugs to calm the inflammation. According to The New York Times, medical experts have long witnessed the devastation the virus can have on the entire body when the immune response goes into overdrive. The steroid drug, dexamethasone, that was given to President Trump, helps keep that overreaction under control.

Other researchers who have also noticed the increased frequency of blood clotting in COVID-19 patients, are studying a drug called dipyridamole used to treat strokes and prevent blood clots to see it it’s effective in reduce the risk of clotting in COVID-19 patients, according to TIME.

Autoantibodies can be identified by the antinuclear antibody (ANA) test which is commonly used to diagnose autoimmune diseases  such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.