healthUpdated: Nov 04, 2020, 16:53 ISTScientists have analysed organ samples from deceased Covid-19 patients and found extensive lung damage in most cases caused by the persistence of abnormal “fused cells,” an advance which sheds more light on the progression of the disease. The findings show extensive lung damage in most cases, with patients experiencing profound disruption of the normal lung structure and the transformation of respiratory tissue into fibrotic material. Click here for complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemicThey said there was extensive blood clotting of the lung arteries and veins, and several lung cells were abnormally large with many nuclei, resulting from the fusion of different cells into single large cells. When the protein is present on the surface of cells infected by the Covid-19 virus, the study noted that it stimulates their fusion with other normal lung cells, which can be a cause for inflammation and thrombosis. The research also showed the long-term persistence of the viral genome in respiratory cells and in cells lining the blood vessels, along with the infected cell syncytia.

Source: Hindustan Times November 04, 2020 11:23 UTC