Introduction

A team of scientists from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine has linked a deadly blood clotting disease to the common cold.

Adenoviruses and Bleeding Disorder

The team found a link between adenoviruses—a group of viruses that can cause mild to severe infections in the body—and a rare bleeding disorder.

Unprecedented Discovery

This is the first time a common respiratory virus has been reported to be associated with blood clots and severe thrombocytopenia.

Platelets and Thrombocytopenia

Platelets are essential for the formation of blood clots when people are injured. Viral infections, autoimmune diseases, and other conditions can cause low platelet levels throughout the body, known as thrombocytopenia.

“This adenovirus disease is now one of four known antiplatelet factor IV (PF4) diseases,” Dr. Stephen Moll, professor of medicine in the department of hematology at the Faculty of Medicine, said in a statement. “This discovery will be useful in leading to earlier diagnosis and appropriate treatment, and improve outcomes for patients who develop this life-threatening disorder.”

New England Journal Publication

The latest results published in the New England Journal of Medicine provide details about the virus and its role in causing antiplatelet factor 4 disorder. This discovery also opens new avenues for research to understand why and how this condition occurs.

Antibodies and Platelet Clearance

In anti-PF4 disorders, the human immune system produces antibodies against PF4, a protein secreted by platelets. Antibodies are proteins that help fight dangerous diseases. However, when an antibody is produced against and binds to PF4, activation and rapid clearance of platelets from the bloodstream can be stimulated, leading to blood clotting and low platelet counts.

Spontaneous Stroke and Vaccine-Related Thrombocytopenia

Sometimes a patient’s exposure to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) results in the formation of antibodies to PF4. Sometimes it occurs as an autoimmune condition without prior exposure to heparin (a compound widely used as an anticoagulant), which is called a spontaneous stroke. Over the past three years, a small number of cases of thrombocytopenia have been associated with specific COVID-19 vaccines, called vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia (VITT).

Case Studies

To better understand this, the researchers looked at the case of a five-year-old boy who had previously been diagnosed with an adenovirus infection and was hospitalized with a severe blood clot in the brain and a very low platelet count. The results showed that the boy had antibodies typically associated with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. A similar case was reported in another patient with adenovirus infection, which led to further testing that showed the patient’s antibodies were targeting the same protein as heparin-induced thrombocytopenia antibodies, and it was concluded that they had a heparin variant-induced thrombocytopenia associated with the Adenovirus infection.

Future Research

Scientists now have many unanswered questions about how common this disease is and whether it can be caused by other viruses.

Source

Source: Independent