7) The authors used fluorescently labelled fibrin while previous studies by Pretorius/Kell et al. used thioflavin T, a dye that lights up when bound to amyloid, a misfolded protein. So these two techniques might measure slightly different things.

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6) In a smaller subgroup of 55 participants, they tried to measure microclots more directly using Fibrin(ogen) microaggregate analysis. The plots show no increase in the number or area of microaggregates. In other words, there was no evidence for more microclots in LC.

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5) Neutrophils can also promote clotting by expelling DNA and proteins in web called Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Here they tested NETosis measures such as Myeloperoxidase and Citrullinated H3. All of these measures showed NO significant difference with controls.

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4) For endothelial activation they measure Von Willebrand factor (VWF, helps platelets stick) and thrombomodulin (sheds when the endothelium is damaged). Measures of platelet activation included P-selectin and sCD40L.

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3) The measurements consisted of two main parts. First they measured multiple biomarkers in the blood that are related to microclots. For coagulation, for example, they measured fibrinogen (the raw material for clots) and D-dimer (a fragment released when clots are broken down)

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