New treatment demonstrated for people with vaccine clots

Scientists now understand the mechanism that leads to platelet activation and clotting A new lifesaving treatment for people suffering from vaccine-related blood clots has been demonstrated by scientists at McMaster University. Researchers at the McMaster Platelet Immunology Laboratory (MPIL) are recommending two treatments, a combination of anti-clotting drugs with high doses of intravenous immunoglobulin, to combat vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT). The treatment’s effectiveness was described in a report describing three Canadian patients who received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and who subsequently developed VITT. Two suffered clotting in their legs and the third had clots blocking arteries and veins inside their brain. “If you were a patient with VITT, I’d be telling you we know of a treatment approach. We can diagnose it accurately with our tests, treat it and we know exactly how the treatment works,” said Ishac Nazy, scientific director of the lab and associate professor of medicine. “Our job is to understand this...