I dont know if another team will try to replicate this study in ME/CFS patients but there was a japaness team which I think replicated it in covid patients. I dont have any scientific background so I am not able to judge the quality of these studies. Here is the link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41...qgfQII3VMhumIpGPtvEpslBhXSsC74K_Hzn7XM5qAyNGo
That looks like an account of platelet-aggregate thrombi rather than fibrin-based clots and in the acute illness phase? I don't think there is any doubt that thrombi play a role in acute Covid pathology.
I think I might have been able to replicate the results on my own blood plasma as you can see on the attached image. There were a couple of red blood cells that escaped centrifugation that act as a size reference. The whole sample was scattered with microclots of this size. I'm working on getting a control sample for comparison. Procedure was drawing whole blood into a blue top citrate vacutainer. Centrifuge at 3000rpm for 15min and siphon supernatant platelet poor plasma to another tube. Smear on microscope glass and analyse in light microscopy within an hour with x40 magnification in addition to the x16 on the eyepiece. All as described in Reisa Pretorius paper. If the control turns out to be clean then there is definitely something going on in the blood plasma. I am ME diagnosed and have not had Covid.
It is important to note that it is possible that the clots are forming in vitro but that would still be an indication of some sort of activation if controls turn out to be clean.
As you say, controls vital. And so prone to artefact. Obviously these are cruder techniques and, as has always been said, a rapid scalable diagnostic is required to demonstrate and quantify the in vivo situation. (Maybe the RBC contaminants you noted might disappear from your sample if centrifuged at 3000g, rather than 3000 RPM?)
I believe so. At least it is similar to the formations shown in the paper. In a perfect world I would have to die it and view in a electro microscope.
That could absolutely be true. The sample was 2-3ml so I need to try this again at double to triple speed. That could maybe actually also sort out the the clots/debris visible. I will post an update if I manage to do this again and get a control as well.
Im confusing things here a little bit. The g stands for gravity not grams and based on a calculation with radius of the centrifuge itself. I will check the machine and adjust accordingly. It might have been close to the correct speed to begin with.