Author: Abikenova Ayazhan
Translator: Orazayeva Nargiz
Copy editors: Kigbayeva Kamila, Issabayeva Madina
On May 23, 2020, researchers performed the autopsy on patients who died from the coronavirus infection (CVI) in order to study changes in the lungs. With the purpose of making comparison, the autopsy was performed on patients who died with healthy lungs, who died from influenza, and COVID-19. The total number of patients was 21 people, 7 people from each category.
During the autopsy, the researchers confirmed two things: Firstly, coronavirus penetrating the blood vessels, damages their mucous membrane, which is called endothelium; secondly, the endothelium lesion contributes to the formation of blood clots and disruption of the entire circulatory system.
Doctors report that the blood of patients with COVID-19 curdles easily and makes it difficult to deliver drugs through the blood. Blood clots also put patients at a higher risk of developing problems such as heart attacks and strokes. In fact, on microscopic examination, the lungs of patients with COVID-19 were full of tiny dark blood micro clots, which are 9 times more common than in patients who have died from the flu.
In addition to these two statements, the researchers discovered the third phenomenon, occurring in the blood vessels of patients with COVID-19, that showed how serious their diseases were: the vessels, which are blocked by these clots, are thinner than the thickness of a human’s hair. These blood vessels are crucial for the gas exchange in the lungs and it is almost impossible to detect it during life, which worsens the outcome in patients with CVI.
‘Our study opens the door to the need for additional blood vessel studies for COVID-19 infection. There will be an opportunity to develop new ways to protect patients from blood coagulation in order to see if we can somehow protect the endothelium,’ said study author William Lee, MD, president and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation. Researchers plan to continue the study of vascular damage to other organs and parts of the body. They hope to understand other symptoms that have been reported in other studies, including ‘frostbitten fingers-COVID’.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/
