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A breakthrough in detection methods might finally give us the diagnostic tool we've been desperately seeking

For years, Long COVID patients have been fighting an invisible war. Not just against their symptoms, but against a medical system that couldn't quite put its finger on what was wrong. "It's all in your head," some were told. "Your bloodwork looks normal," others heard. Meanwhile, millions of people worldwide have been living with a condition that has no clear diagnostic marker, no targeted treatment, and precious little understanding from the very institutions meant to help them.

That might be about to change.

Enter imaging flow cytometry—  this technology can detect and quantify amyloid microclots in blood plasma in about seven minutes per sample. 

Accelerating discovery: A novel flow cytometric method for detecting fibrin(ogen) amyloid microclots using long COVID as a model

A central role for amyloid fibrin microclots in long COVID/PASC: origins and therapeutic implications

This is Heliox: Where Evidence Meets Empathy

Independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical, global, and community conversations about things that matter.  Breathe Easy, we go deep and lightly surface the big ideas.

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Disclosure: This podcast uses AI-generated synthetic voices for a material portion of the audio content, in line with Apple Podcasts guidelines. 

We make rigorous science accessible, accurate, and unforgettable.

Produced by Michelle Bruecker and Scott Bleackley, it features reviews of emerging research and ideas from leading thinkers, curated under our creative direction with AI assistance for voice, imagery, and composition. Systemic voices and illustrative images of people are representative tools, not depictions of specific individuals.

We dive deep into peer-reviewed research, pre-prints, and major scientific works—then bring them to life through the stories of the researchers themselves. Complex ideas become clear. Obscure discoveries become conversation starters. And you walk away understanding not just what scientists discovered, but why it matters and how they got there.

Independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical, global, and community conversations about things that matter.  Breathe Easy, we go deep and lightly surface the big ideas.

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