Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023 SARS-CoV-2 in Airway Can Trigger Lung Damage Caption: The image above shows fibrin deposits (red) associated with human lung epithelial cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. The same cells when uninfected are absent the fibrin deposits. (NIAID) NIAID-Led Study Identifies Potential Treatment NIAID scientists and colleagues have identified a cause of COVID-induced lung fibrosis, a severe and often fatal result of COVID-19 that leaves lungs scarred, clotted and leathery, and patients struggling to breathe. Their study, published in Nature Communications, also offers an explanation why traditional blood thinners have not helped patients – but why other treatments might. The study involved testing lung fluid samples from about two dozen COVID-19 donors, including acute, recovered, and healthy groups. This work showed that two proteins produced in the liver and associated with clotting increased 50 to 100 times their normal amount during SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study also identifies a mechanism in the airway that they believe explains why blood thinners such as heparin are ineffective against SARS-CoV-2. The researchers suggest evaluating alternative treatments that target the airway. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases  |  National Institutes of Health Update your subscriptions, modify your password or e-mail address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your e-mail address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact Subscriber Help. This service is provided to you at no charge by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).                             This email was sent to myhcistech.healthnews360@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 5601 Fishers Lane · Bethesda, MD 20892 · 1-866-284-4107