Almost one in ten of those who have recovered still have ongoing symptoms such as dizziness, diarrhoea, shortness of breath, fatigue and debilitating brain fog, which can persist for months or even years, according to the BBC. A new imaging technique has revealed the source of long-lived Covid in the lungs, ScienceAlert reported. “Disappointingly, even long-term COVID patients who describe breathing-related problems show normal results on standard clinical breathing tests,” said pulmonologist Michael Nicholson of St. Joseph’s Health Care London, adding that the findings allowed them to show the presence of a physiological impact on [patient] lungs associated with their symptoms. In addition, the scans showed the extensive damage that COVID-19 can cause to a person’s respiratory organs.
Extensive lung damage
According to the study published in Radiology, abnormal gas transport and pulmonary vascular density have been reported in patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS). Regardless of whether it was caused by the virus itself or the body’s response, some mechanism has effectively cut off the function of the patients’ pulmonary vessels, affecting many of the smaller ones where essential gas exchange takes place. To observe the activity in these tiny airways and blood vessels in real time, the researchers, led by Western University physicist Alexander Matheson, instructed 40 volunteers — 34 with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and 6 without – to inhale a polarized foreign. gas isotope that resonates at a characteristic frequency under MRI. To summarize their findings, even a mildly severe infection in symptomatic patients after COVID-19 shows an abnormality in the exchange of oxygen across the alveolar membrane in red blood cells, said Western University medical biophysicist Grace Parraga. Apparently, the transfer of oxygen to red blood cells was depressed in these symptomatic patients who had COVID-19, compared to healthy volunteers, he added. In addition, vascular damage is reflected by MRI, suggesting that flu symptoms as common signs of COVID-19 are not just another respiratory disease, but also vascular disease. Also read: The CDC warns us about the unusual symptoms that accompany monkeypox
Possible mechanisms for impaired gas exchange
The team presented several possible mechanisms for the change in gas exchange they saw, showing that some vessels may lose their flexibility, which reduces available blood, changes blood pattern, diverts blood away from areas of gas exchange, or blocks blood. to get there. However, the team fears that their sample size may not be enough to give a more convincing generalization, but is open to further research. However, whatever the mechanism behind it, it is clear to them that the virus interferes and disrupts the circulatory system by directly targeting the endothelial cells, which line the walls of our blood vessels and heart. In fact, every COVID-19 infection is at risk for vascular damage, from clotting problems to heart disease. “I was on oxygen for almost two months after COVID, and it took me almost three months to get to a place where I could go for a walk without gasping for air,” according to one study participant, noting that the virus can have very serious long-term consequences, which are not trivial. Related Article: South Korea’s first homemade Covid vaccine approved for ages 18 and up © 2022 NatureWorldNews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
