Doctors and researchers in Nice have reportedly found an explanation for the vulnerability of some patients to Covid-19. They would all suffer from a clotting problem.
Thierry Passeron, professor of dermatology at the University Hospital of Nice and head of an Inserm * team, noted that the skin of patients admitted to intensive care presented an appearance ” unnatural “, reports France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d´Azur. Post-mortem biopsies were performed at the end of April on the lungs of two patients and the skin of four patients. Result: researchers have always found vascularization disorders, announces the regional chain on its site
Blood vessels in the lungs become blocked
According to scientists, pericytes, which are small membranes surrounding the pulmonary capillaries, fall apart when they are affected by the virus, reports France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d´Azur. This would cause the blood vessels in the lungs to thicken and eventually become blocked.
In addition, the virus needs a gateway to attack our cells, but other studies have shown that pericytes play a role in this area, says the regional chain. This clotting problem would explain why people who are immunocompromised, hypertensive, diabetic, transplanted or even obese are more vulnerable to coronavirus.
“The first cells affected are the pericytes”
“We show that even before the vessels are affected, the first cells affected are the pericytes, this confirms the vascular damage well and gives us a clue as to why the virus reaches the microvessels”, explains Professor Thierry Passeron to France 3.
The medical journal Intensive Care Medicine would have agreed to publish an article on the conclusions of this study.
(*) Inserm: the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (N.D.L.R.).
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