Descripción del proyecto
Tratamiento del COVID-19 persistente con tratamiento a base de radiación ultravioleta B
A medida que aumentan los casos de COVID-19, muchos pacientes experimentan una COVID-19 persistente, en la que los síntomas persisten durante semanas o meses tras la recuperación inicial. Estos síntomas incluyen pérdida de peso, dolor torácico, problemas de memoria y disnea, y afectan a alrededor del 36,55 % de los supervivientes. Se calcula que en todo el mundo 157 millones de adultos padecen esta enfermedad. A pesar de su incidencia generalizada, actualmente no existen tratamientos eficaces. El equipo del proyecto longCOVID-UVBtherapy, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, pretende colmar esta laguna probando la fototerapia de radiación ultravioleta B (UVB) como tratamiento. Este enfoque desplaza las respuestas inmunitarias para contrarrestar los efectos inflamatorios de la COVID-19 y podría aliviar una serie de síntomas de la COVID-19 persistente. En los ensayos clínicos se validará su eficacia, con el objetivo de que sea ampliamente accesible a través de las clínicas de fototerapia existentes.
Objetivo
As the number of COVID-19 cases grows worldwide, so does the number of those suffering from clinical parameters that last weeks to-months post initial recovery, termed long-COVID, with as much as 36.55% of survivors exhibiting long-lasting symptoms (e.g. weight loss, chest pain, cognitive and memory disorders, breathlessness) according to recent studiesan estimated ~157 million long-COVID adult patients worldwide to date. Clearly, this growing health problem represents a modern global medical challenge. This challenge is compounded by a knowledge gap regarding the causes and prevalence of long-COVID, leaving no effective treatments. As noted by The Lancet: The scientific and medical communities must collaborate and find effective treatments. Based on findings from my ERC grant, supported by other COVID-related reports, I propose to validate a UVB radiation (phototherapy) protocol for the treatment of long-COVID patients. Our findings indicate that phototherapy induces an immunological shift that counters that of the COVID phenotype: from T helper (Th) 1 cells, which stimulate inflammation and cell-mediated immunity, to Th2 cells, which promote humoral immunity. Phototherapy is also expected to address a range of reported respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, endocrine and metabolic long-COVID symptoms. Our PoC entails both validating via a clinical trial the proposed treatment, through a strong collaborative framework with Maccabi Healthcare Services, Israels second largest HMO, and conducting pre-commercialization steps to enable quick, easy dissemination on the global stage. Taken together, our value proposition is an effective, non-invasive, simple long-COVID treatment that can be implemented through already established phototherapy clinics worldwide, thereby offering immediate relief to long-COVID patients while simultaneously reducing the health and financial burden of severely overburdened health systems.
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept GrantsInstitución de acogida
69978 Tel Aviv
Israel