Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Sep 26, 2025 1 hour, 53 minutes ago
Medical News: Understanding the Hidden Threat in COVID-19
Severe COVID-19 does not only affect the lungs. Many patients develop problems with their blood vessels, known as endotheliopathy, which can trigger dangerous blood clots or coagulopathy. These complications are strongly linked to higher death rates in patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Doctors have been using dexamethasone, a steroid drug, to treat severe cases, but exactly how it protects patients has not been fully understood. This
Medical News report looks at new findings that shed light on the drug’s hidden benefits.
Dexamethasone Blocks Dangerous Blood Vessel Damage in COVID-19
How the Study Was Carried Out
The research was conducted by scientists from Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris and Université Paris-Cité with INSERM, France. They closely monitored 44 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 ARDS. Some patients received dexamethasone along with therapeutic unfractionated heparin (UFH), while others did not. Blood samples were taken over a period of seven days to track markers of blood vessel injury and clotting, including von Willebrand Factor, Angiopoietin-2, soluble E-selectin, and D-dimer levels.
The team also designed laboratory tests using human endothelial cells, mimicking the conditions of a severe COVID-19 “cytokine storm.” These tests allowed them to see how dexamethasone directly influenced the cells’ ability to trigger clotting in blood plasma.
Key Findings
Results showed that patients treated with dexamethasone had much lower levels of the blood clotting markers compared to those who did not receive the drug. Importantly, laboratory tests confirmed that dexamethasone, not UFH, directly reduced the blood vessels’ tendency to trigger clot formation. In larger patient groups, those given dexamethasone had significantly lower thrombin generation rates—a measurement of how strongly blood tends to clot. In fact, thrombin potential was closely tied to survival, with lower levels predicting better chances of recovery.
Why This Matters
These findings suggest that dexamethasone not only helps reduce lung inflammation but also protects blood vessels from damage and lowers the risk of fatal blood clots. This dual effect could explain why patients receiving the drug have fewer cases of venous thrombosis during hospitalization. For common people, this means the widely used steroid may be saving lives by stopping one of the deadliest complications of COVID-19 before it develops.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/ATVBAHA.125.322774
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Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-herbs-german-american-study-shows-that-cinnamaldehyde-from-cinnamon-is-a-good-supplement-with-dexamethasone-for-treating-covid-19
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/university-of-virginia-study-warns-that-dexamethasone-may-not-be-beneficial-for-covid-19-patients-who-are-diabetic-or-have-low-albumin-levels
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/covid-19-drugs-dexamethasone-trial-results-finally-published,-warning-that-although-beneficial,-early-use-in-covid-19-patients-can-be-harmful
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