DW News published this video item, entitled “Long COVID research update: Blood abnormalities could cause Long COVID | COVID-19 Special” – below is their description.
At the University of Erlangen’s Max Planck Institute in Germany, scientists are looking for the causes of Long COVID, or post-COVID-19, syndrome in which patients suffer from lingering breathlessness, tightness in the chest, or fatigue.
“We’ve seen many different blood cells react very strongly – they get bigger and have a greater volume. Some become more malleable, others become more rigid. These characteristics might have something to do with the cells not passing through the capillaries as easily — and instead getting stuck in the lungs”, says Jochen Guck, Director at the Max Planck Institute.
To measure the cells’ malleability, scientists have developed a so-called chip, which contains tiny holes, finer than a human hair. Blood is pumped through these canals and filmed with a high-speed camera. The result? Healthy blood cells become rod-shaped. Infected ones remain round clumps.
DW News YouTube Channel
Got a comment? Leave your thoughts in the comments section, below. Please note comments are moderated before publication.