According to a Global News report, a team of researchers has zeroed in on a tiny abnormality in the way oxygen is transported from the lungs and blood vessels of long-term patients with Covid-19 in their test.
The abnormality may explain why some patients experience shortness of breath and are unable to perform strenuous activities after Covid. The study evaluated approximately 34 patients for approximately nine months – 12 who had been treated with Covid-19 and 22 others who had not been treated. Patients were still experiencing a number of debilitating symptoms.
The researchers used a magnetic resonance imaging technique developed by Western University and found tiny branches of air tubes in the lungs that moved in their patients’ red blood cells.
“Red blood cells are responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Any interruption in the flow of this oxygen to the red blood cells will cause the brain to say ‘breathe more’ – resulting in a feeling of shortness of breath,” said the lead researcher. Parraga.
All 34 patients in the study had problems with the level of oxygen absorbed by their red blood cells. Therefore, all patients experienced dyspnea problems.
“All of these patients have had this disorder. “Everyone had very severe symptoms, so their exercise scores were low, they had shortness of breath when they exercised and when we measured their blood oxygen levels at their fingertips after exercise, it was also low,” the study said.
The research team acknowledges that the sample size of this peer-reviewed study is small and that the results should therefore be considered “exploratory and hypothetical”.
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