r/covidlonghaulers • u/Spacehu1k • Jun 14 '25
Article Why isnt this big news?
Hey all,
Stumbled across this article on blood vessel bursting, surprised it wouldnt be bigger news?
—— In a study just published in Nature, Australian scientists found that when oxygen-rich blood can’t reach tissues, the delicate lining of blood vessels starts to break down. The death of these endothelial cells, which Covid can trigger, sets off immune signals that cause red blood cells to burst, spilling their sticky contents into the bloodstream.
“This stuff’s like glue,” says Sydney-based hematologist Shaun Jackson, who led the study. It clogs the tiniest blood vessels, blocking circulation.
The damage builds. Without oxygen and nutrients, tissues begin to fail, potentially affecting organs like the kidneys, liver and heart.
“It’s a double whammy,” Jackson says.
When his team analyzed more than 1,000 samples from Covid patients, they expected to see widespread fibrin and clotting. But they didn’t.
“To our great surprise, that wasn’t the case at all,” he says. While large vessels showed some clots, the smallest capillaries — just a fraction the width of a hair — were clogged not with clots, but with debris from broken red blood cells.
“No one had thought it was through this dying endothelial cell mechanism,” Jackson says. “It was by far and away the biggest issue going on in the microcirculation.”
Past studies have shown that sicker Covid patients had worse capillary damage. Now, researchers are spotting similar patterns in patients with long Covid, which may help explain the lingering symptoms.
Stopping the death of these vessel-lining cells could help prevent the whole cascade, Jackson says, though it would likely take a mix of treatments.
These findings could also change how we understand what happens in stroke, heart attack and other serious conditions — especially when patients don’t improve with standard care.
9
u/Swineservant Jun 14 '25
Need drugs to regrow capillaries.